


The Journey Ahead

by Meribell64



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Other, Supernatural Elements, Unoriginal, no beta we die like Glenn, self-indulgence, wolf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:15:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 49,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21712066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meribell64/pseuds/Meribell64
Summary: Sarina lives her mercenary with no expectations, surviving in the world with her father and their band of mercenaries. The life she believed that would've stayed constant takes a turn when they save three nobles who were on the run for their lives. She finds herself thrusted in the life of a professor with others no younger or older than she was. As she combats hiding her own secrets,  she uncovers other secrets that may change everyone's lives, including her own.Essentially a retelling of Fire Emblem Three Houses which will take the Blue Lion route. This is a Dimitri x My Unit centric as well.[Discontinued]
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Jeralt Reus Eisner & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28





	1. The Beginning/Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Basically Sarina is Byleth in this fic. They essentially have the same personality, but the way I would like to work with Sarina adds a bit more touch to her personality than Byleth's which made me want to gear it towards to making her my own character. I have yet to play Claude's route tbh so this is gonna be interesting, but I will be writing this fic while playing. I'm still in Blue Lions route right now, but let me tell you... Dimitri my boy, PLEASE. 
> 
> Enjoy.

He looked down to the bundle of joy that he cradled in his arms before looking back of the large building, the second floor of one of the towers blazing high in sky and brightening the darkness in the air. Seeming satisfied with the life-changing decision he made, he turned back towards his daughter that he held in his arms, giving a light kick to his horse and clicking his tongue. The horse began to trudge forward to wherever the road can take them. He keeps his attention to the small life that sleep soundly. She had no idea what was happening except that she was basked in the warmth of her father, nestled in the blanket that she was placed in hurriedly. “I promise I will protect you… Sarina.”

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

8 Months Later

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

She took her first steps towards him. She held out her arms in an attempt to balance herself. Her feet wobbled, unused to the sudden pressure and need to support her weight. Soon enough, she toppled forward, but she had reached the tall and large man before her who would scoop her up into his arms. She was beginning to let out babbles, but only when prompted, or whenever she wanted something. But even then, it seemed to be devoid with much emotion. And yet, the way she clung onto his shirt with her tiny hands and rested her cheek against his shoulder to close her sparkling aquamarine eyes, looking comfortable and at peace in his embrace, showed as much affection she had for him as he did her. He gently rubbed her back as he walked out of the worn-down house they had settled in temporarily.

As soon as he stepped outside, he heard a gruff voice calling for him. “Jeralt.”

The light brown-haired man looked up to the owner of the voice. It was middle-aged man who had more scars than the common man could count, however, considering the line of work they dealt with, it was no surprise. “We have another job. It’s just right outside of Remire village. It pays pretty well actually.”

“Oh yeah?” Jeralt says as he gives a light laugh, a tired smile gracing his lips as he steps forward. The bundle of joy in his arms turned her head towards the other man, looking at him with a doll-like expression. The middle-aged man seemed startled—almost unnerved by the way she looked at him. He only raised an eyebrow to the man who could only cleared his throat.

“Let us know when you’re ready to depart,” the man stated before quickly walking off.

Jeralt could only sigh exasperatedly as he scratched the back of his head.

“Da.”

The man glanced down as he heard the incomplete word spoken. His brown eyes met with her aquamarine ones. “Da.” She said again. This was her first word she had spoken to him, even if it was incomplete. His heart seemed to swell with joy.

“Yeah kiddo… I’m your dad,” he said with a smile, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back.

The kiss on her forehead and the rubbing on her back lulled her towards the land of dreams. She relaxed in his arms as she rested her head back on his chest, clutching his shirt tightly and nestling up against him. She fell right asleep, her tiny chest rising and falling as she breathed and listened to the sound of his heartbeat in his chest.

Jeralt patted and rubbed her back again before making his way to ready his horse and prepared himself to let the group know they will be departing for their next destination. He gave one last look to his sleeping daughter, renewing his vow that he made months ago. “I’ll keep you safe, kid.”


	2. Her First Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's beginning her training as a swordsman under her father tutelage. The band of mercenaries were contracted to clean up a bandit raid, and while her father leads the force, she gets left under someone's care while gaining first hand experience on the field. The man who she's placed under isn't taking this too lightly. That is until he unexpectedly finds himself in a life-or-death situation.

_Whoosh! Whack! Whoosh! Whoooo!_

Jeralt listened and watched carefully as the young girl swung her wooden sword that she held in her hands. Her form wasn’t perfect, but he could see that she was steadily improving under his tutelage. He watched her swing the sword again and the blank expression she carried on her face. How old is she now? Nearly 8? He thought back to the month. It was the first week of the Horsebow Moon, meaning her birthday was just in a couple of weeks. Although her birthday would be approaching soon, they had already celebrated months before, during the Garland Moon.

As an attempt to avoid suspicion, he had raised her to believe her birthday was of the last month. Although a minor change, it was sufficient. It would’ve made more sense if it was after, but he knew it would’ve been more suspicious. He sees her swing the sword one more time, except with less vigor unlike her previous swings. He could tell she must be getting tired, and yet she didn’t voice any complaints. “Alright kid, I think you’re done,” he finally stated.

Her head perked up as she held her training sword. She nodded her head simply in response before loosening up from her stiff posture and relaxing. Her arms were sore from swinging it in different ways, but she didn’t exactly show any displeasure from doing so. She saw a large shadow suddenly enveloping her and she perked her head up once more, tilting it back to see her father towering over her and blocking the sun. He gently placed his large head on top of her head, rubbing it gently before giving it a pat. Her lips pressed together as her cheeks flushed a light red color, seemingly in delight, as she nuzzled her head back into his touch.

A smile came onto Jeralt’s face. Although she didn’t show much expression or say how she felt, it was her actions that said the most of how she felt. “We’ll do a sparring match later, alright kid?” he said to her.

She nodded her head. “Okay,” she said in a soft kid voice. In spite of her lack of speech and expression, he made sure she was at least educated. When he removed his hand from her head, she immediately reached up and grasped onto his fingers with her small hand.

Jeralt took the first step and just as he did, someone called for him. “Jeralt! Some bandits are heading our way. I think they’re trying to pillage that village near us,” he reported to him.

A loud sigh escaped his lips as he scratched the back of his head. “Just another day of bandits huh?” he stated. He glanced down to his younger daughter who looked back up him, tilting her head slightly and wondering what he wanted to do. “Alright, tell everyone to head out and intercept them. I’ll be there.”

The mercenary nodded their head and retreated back to the group to inform them of the order, but not without glancing back to the child that held onto their leader’s hand.

Jeralt thought for a moment about what to do and looked back down to Sarina. They proceeded to walk over to his horse that was tied down to the nearby tree that was in close proximity of the open field that Sarina was just training in. “I was going to wait a little longer, but I think you’re old enough for this...” He released her hand as he began to fiddle around in the luggage that his horse carried at its side. Sarina tilted her head curiously before being presented with a sheathed sword, however she noticed it wasn’t as long or as thick as a regular sword that everyone else carried. She held her hands out and it was practically her size almost, at least in proportion. He saw her curious gaze and upon closer inspection, could see a sparkle in her eyes almost that was rare. “A short sword. You’re still kind of a pipsqueak right now but I think this will make do for now. You’re already 8 now, but I think it’s good that you get a real feeling of a sword in your hands now. Once you get bigger, I’ll give you a regular one.”

Although he was used to it, he couldn’t help but hope to get a response from her. When he heard nothing but silence and watched as his daughter gazed at the newfound weapon in her hands, she just nodded her head. He couldn’t stop the sigh that left his lips before turning back to his horse, untying it from the tree but then suddenly he heard two words he didn’t expect to hear: “Thank you.” He turned his head back down, met with her aquamarine eyes. For the first time, he saw deep affection and admiration twinkle from her expression. A smile broke out as he suddenly crouched down and lifted her up to perch her on his horse.

“No problem kid,” he said in response as he ruffled her hair. He pulled himself up and sat on the saddle, his daughter in front of him as she held onto the sword in her lap. He pulled on the reins and kicked the horse on the side, letting out a “yah” yell. Before long, the horse went running to their destination, quickly catching up to the others.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

Laughter filled the air, mixed in with the screams of the dying. “Don’t leave anyone alive!” the bandit leader announced as he swung his axe down to his next victim that he pinned down under his foot. Blood splattered across his face and clothes, but he care not as a long slithering tongue left his mouth to taste the blood. It seemed to have ascended him somewhere higher than the heavens, his bloodlust increasing. “Be sure to grab anything you see valuable!” he soon yelled out as he proceeded to find his next victim. He laid eyes on a maiden who ran as fast as she could, only to trip over her own feet. He eyed her lecherously and thought he could relish and satisfy his more primal needs.

The maiden clawed at the ground as she tried to push herself up quickly onto her feet, needing to run for her life. Just as she was about to push for another sprint, she felt her hair yanked back painfully, letting out a yelp. Her eyes widened and her body trembled as she saw the bandit leader looking down on her with a perverse look mixed with a hunger for blood.

“And where do you think you’re going little lady?” the bandit leader licked his lips.

Unable to escape his grasp, she did the only other thing that would be effective. Scream. “Help! HELP!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!”

The bandit leader could only laugh at her pitiful attempt to call for help. “There’s no one to help you here sweetie. Now just be a good girl and—”

His words were quickly cut off as the sound of an arrow was released. The arrow lodged itself swiftly into his shoulder of the arm that held the maiden. He let out a loud yell of pain as he grabbed his shoulder and forced to release the maiden, who quickly took off the first chance she got. “Who the fuck—” the bandit barely had enough time to react as he was suddenly stabbed in the abdomen by a lance and all he heard was the sounds of a horse clopping around him. He looked up and his eyes widened, his face paling at the sight before him: It was the Blade Breaker.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay down,” Jeralt says to him coldly as he steadies his horse. He gives a sigh and a nonchalant look as he looked afar.

The other members were already making their way throughout the village to cut down any bandits on their way, some even capturing some and tying them when they surrender. He didn’t really care what they did so as long as they got the job done. He scanned the area, looking for a particular person. He spots her.

Sarina helps the maiden that was on the run and points to where she can hide. This was her first time being out in the field, so he tried to keep an eye on her. He had one of their members keep an eye on her, though of course they were upset that they had to take care of a kid who had no experience and would rather join in on the fight.

Jeralt just sighs but his ears perk up as he points his lance against the bandit leader’s neck. With just enough pressure, it would be easy for him to pierce through his jugular and let him bleed out. “Looks like you’re really not giving me much choice, are you?”

The bandit leader squirmed under the lance as he held his shoulder in pain from the arrow lodged into his arm. “Fuck you,” he spat.

“Sorry, don’t particularly swing that way,” Jeralt retorts back before using his lance to knock the leader into the ground and then using the blunt end to hit him against the head to effectively incapacitate him. “We’ll deal with him later,” he muttered to himself before pulling on the reins of his horse, the animal rising up and standing on its back hooves before galloping away to their next target.

Meanwhile, Sarina followed the mercenary that her father left her with. He didn’t particularly seem happy to be stuck with her and she could feel his animosity. She said nothing about it though and didn’t think it was her place to say anything to an adult. “Ugh this sucks!” the man growled with scowl on his face. “How did I get left babysitting you?” he asked rhetorically, glaring down at her.

Although she showed no emotion, she lowered her head at the words. If she did feel bad, she hid it well. Her short sword rested on her hip. Her head jerked up when she heard a sudden noise from a house. She looked up to the man and tugged on his pants.

“What?” the man snapped as he looked back down on her, trying to think of ways of trying to ditch her without getting into trouble with Jeralt.

She pointed towards the direction of where she heard something—or someone.

“Come on, speak up, I don’t understand you,” the man demanded as he tapped his foot impatiently. “Gods.”

She lowered her head again at his indignation. She wasn’t used to not being understood, but she was certainly used to hostility. “I heard a noise there,” she finally said. She wasn’t sheepish or meek in her words, but rather spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked up at the man who raised an eyebrow but seemed to be more irritated by the second.

“Then check it out yourself—actually don’t. Just… stay here okay kid? And if some mean guy tries to get you, you better start running. I’m not going to save you, got it?” he said to her.

She only nodded her head in understanding of his words. She did exactly as he said and stayed where she was and yet… she couldn’t help but feel a bit unnerved by some hidden feeling.

The man stalked off towards the direction that Sarina had pointed to. There was a nearby hut that seemed unattended and the door was thrashed open. He sighed and hoped it was a bandit. At least he’ll get some action, but from the looks of it, he knew he was wasting his time. But at least he got away from the kid—he thought she was creepy as all hell and didn’t understand how the famous Blade Breaker could have a brat like that. He was pretty sure they were even related, and he just picked her off the streets. Whatever, it wasn’t his problem now.

He steps past the broken doorway and looked around. It was empty. He clicks his tongue in annoyance. He should’ve known better than to trust a creepy ass kid like—a rattle was made. His instincts immediately took over as he drew his sword. He held it out in a threatening manner as he scanned the area, trying to figure out where it came from. He heard rattling again and it was coming from the kitchen area. He carefully stepped his way there, his eyes looking from left to right and right to left until he entered the area. There was nothing. “What the hell…” he let out and he heard shouting and yelling from outside. He jumped startled before quickly calming down. It was just his group having the time of their lives probably while he was sent on a wild goose chase.

He fucking hated this. He walked around in the kitchen and the rattling happened once more. “Okay, that’s it,” he growled and began to find the source of the sound. He soon figured it was coming from the cupboards near the floor. He held his sword in a tight grip as he inched towards it. His eyes widened as he saw two kids huddled with each other and buried in the other’s arms. When they looked up at him, they turned away as they let out a scream.

“Hey, kiddos, you’re fine—” however he would see that they did not scream because of him. The world became dizzy and a sharp pain in his appeared as he was struck by an unknown figure. He fell to the ground, the grip on his sword slacking as he groaned. He was trying to hold onto his consciousness as he barely managed to pushed himself off the ground and barely turn his head. However, once he tried to, he was met with a punch to his face.

He heard a laugh come from above as he opened his eyes, blood gushing down the side of his face. It was a bandit. Damn, how could he be so careless?

“Die!” the bandit laughed out in a mania they had rose their axe, preparing to swing it down.

In an adrenaline rush, the man managed to pull his sword up and intercepted the swing, but just barely. He supported the blade with his other hand as he felt the heavy weight of both the bandit and the axe, the sharp blade of the axe barely reaching his face. He gritted his teeth and soon, kicked his leg up into the bandit’s stomach, knocking him back. At the same time, he pushed up with his blade to knock the axe upwards. He heard the bandit grunt and tumble backwards as the axe went overhead and with its heavy weight caused the bandit to fall further backwards and into the ground quicker.

Using his sword to help push himself up, he ushered the kids out of the cupboard. “Go! Get out of here!” he yelled at them. This seemed to bring them back to their senses as they immediately skittered out of the cupboard and tried to run out of the hut as quick as they could. Once he was sure they were gone, he felt ready to let loose, but he stumbles. Damn, this bandit did a number on me, he thought to himself. It really was true that everything you do on the battlefield counts.

The bandit had long recovered and like a mindless animal, charged forward towards the man, swinging his axe horizontally. Seeing the predictable moves, the man had dodged to the right, the axe missing him. The bandit before him was too slow and he was much nimbler. However, the aching feeling in his head was beginning to give way. He wanted to finish this quickly. He heard the other give a frustrated growl but then saw an unexpected grin. The bandit grabbed a wooden chair at him. Instinctively, the man brought his sword up and slashed it, cleanly cutting it apart, however when he expected the bandit to be charging right after, he didn’t a glimpse of him.

“Shit—” he cursed as he looked to the side and the bandit somehow managed to get into his blind spot.

“Die!!” the bandit laughed maniacally as he swung his axe up from below.

The man jumped back, only to stumble over his own feet, however, that seemed to be his saving grace as he was grazed by the blade. He had dropped his sword to the ground as he fell backwards. He groaned, but he would be damned if he was going to die without a fight. He was going to fight to the very end, that was his code. However, he let out a choked-out cry as he was kicked in the stomach and forced to roll over onto his back, feeling the weight of a foot onto his chest. Just as he looked up and ready to meet his fate, he let out a sigh. He closed his eyes, ready for the swing of the axe to rip his head off from his body. Suddenly, the kid came into mind. The way she looked up at him with those eyes without emotion, but suddenly other memories popped up. She followed him around and watched him carefully—whether it was during training or during other times as often Jeralt placed her under his care. He realized she wasn’t that bad actually. In these last moments, he hoped she would be alright.

“Gah!”

The man furrowed his eyebrows when he never felt the descent of the axe. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the bandit snarling in pain. The sound of the axe dropping hard to the ground where it broke through the wood floor from its immense weight could be heard. He slowly lifted his head and his eyes widened. Sarina stabbed the man straight in the abdomen with her sword. Her eyes were trained on the bandit at all times and it seemed like she took the opportunity to attack while his attention was on himself. What a clever kid, he had to admit but also, who would’ve thought his life would’ve been saved by her of all people. What was a bit unnerving of the fact she remained unfazed and her eerily calm personality throughout the ordeal.

The bandit growled as his attention was turned on her when she withdrew her sword. He grabbed her by the throat, effortlessly lifting her off the ground. “I’ll kill you too!” he yelled.

The man’s eyes widened again and mindlessly, he had jumped off from the ground, ignoring the pain in his head and in his side as he thrusted his body against the bandit, forcing him to drop Sarina as he tried to pin him down. “Get out of here kid!” he yelled to the girl.

Sarina dropped to the ground, letting out fits of coughs from her throat being grabbed tightly. She looked as she watched the man attempt to ward off the bandit. She began to crawl away, pushing herself off of her feet. She was about to get out of his way, but she heard a sound of a groan and a yell and someone falling to the ground. She looked back and her eyes widened.

The bandit in his crazed mind overpowered the man and pinned him down once again, taking the sword that was stabbed into his abdomen and using it to finish the job once and for all. The man prepared for his fate as he closed his eyes again.

He never felt it coming once again. Silence ensued after the bandit declared his death. Like before, he slowly opened his eyes as he felt the grip around his neck slack. The bandit looked down as a sword had pierced through his chest and he slowly looked behind him. Sarina took the man’s sword on the ground and used all the strength she had to pierce it through his body. The blood stained her face and her clothes as she slowly pulled away, stepping back, unknowing if the bandit would move or not.

He didn’t. The next thing that happened was the eyes rolled back and his body dropped to the side. The man swallowed, feeling his throat dry. He looked to the girl who continued to look unfazed and unflinching. However, when he looked closer on her face, she might be in a state of shock. She killed her first bandit. Normally, he would’ve praised her and said she was on her way, and yet…. He didn’t feel proud of this at all. He didn’t feel… bad about it and didn’t dislike the fact she saved him. It was like…. He wished this hadn’t happened.

“Brat,” he tried to call out for her, but suddenly she began to wretch in pain. She let out a pained cry that he had never heard before from her, watching her drop to the ground as she held her head tightly. She whimpered in pain and it seemed to spread to her chest as she kept a hand at her head and the other moved down to her chest, clutching her shirt tightly. “Brat!” he limped over towards her, quickly getting to her side. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did he hurt you?”

He scanned her body but didn’t see any signs of injuries on her. When she lifted her head at him, she gave the most pained expression he has ever seen, however, he soon saw her eyes. The aquamarine eyes she had gave an incandescent glow, her irises turning into a golden color—a golden color that resembled the eyes of wolf. Soon enough, the golden color dissipates and so does the pain she felt. For the first time, Sarina clutches onto someone’s shirt that wasn’t her father’s. She looked up to him, the pained expression still on her face. She hadn’t felt pain like that before in her life.

The man swallowed. “Hey, let’s get out of here,” he suggested. She only nods.


	3. Heritage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's revealed that there's a little bit more to Sarina than initially thought, however, this doesn't deter Jeralt from giving her the most normal life of a mercenary job could give. She gains a new friend and companion, even if they don't like her.

Sarina helps the man walk out of the bricked hut house, letting him use her shoulder to steady himself as they walked out. Immediately, the man sees someone quietly but frantically looking about. It was Jeralt. Although he remained calm, his movements suggested otherwise. It wasn’t long until the two locked eyes with one another. “Sarina!” he yelled out and quickly enough, began to sprint towards the two. He sees blood on his daughter, but quickly sees that she was uninjured. The blood wasn’t hers. This puts him at relief, his shoulders relaxing before he looks the man over. “Liam,” he addressed. “You look like hell,” he just says.

The man, Liam, just laughs. “I’ve been through worse. But…” For the first time, he places his hand on Sarina’s head, giving it a gentle rub. “This brat saved my life actually.”

Sarina blinked as she looked up, her eyes widening slightly to indicate her surprise. This was the first time someone else patted her head other than her father. She didn’t dislike it and turned her gaze towards the ground, unable to help herself to nuzzle her head into his touch. She was like a puppy, Liam mentally noted.

“A bandit caught you offguard?” Jeralt asked, deducing what had happened if Liam was in a condition like this.

“Pretty much,” Liam admitted. His expression soon hardens. “… Jeralt, I have to talk to you about something.” He glances down to Sarina. “It’s about the bra—” he clears his throat. “Sarina.”

Jeralt’s own expression hardens. He looks down to her who looked up at him briefly before looking back down. “Sure, after we tend to your wounds. Come on,” he insisted, offering to help Liam walk to the healer they had in the crew. He offers his hand to Sarina, who quickly takes it and holds onto it tightly—tighter than she normally would.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

The band of mercenaries successfully fended off the bandit attack with some casualties, but it was nothing they could not afford. The village they protected were grateful for them and paid them for their services and more. They offered food and a night’s stay at their village to properly thank them and compensate them. Jeralt was good with his words it seems as they got more than just food but a feast as well as a night and half a day’s rest before they would head back to their base camp. When night fell and their members recuperating and healed, they celebrated the night away. Never a dull moment with this group, Jeralt noted. However, there was one thing that bothered him all day—Liam and Sarina. He didn’t know what happened, but the two seemed to be on better terms now. Liam doesn’t complain about her anymore, yet he keeps holding this strange grave expression. Sarina… Now she’s normally quiet, however, there was something about her quiet nature today that seemed unnerving. He didn’t want to pressure her into talking about it, but he was worried.

As soon as they finally the opportunity to excuse themselves from the festivities and settle in the inn the village had offer to them, Jeralt placed her down on the bed. He gave her the ceremonial head rub after she was dressed for bed. Being on a mercenary’s pay as well as being traveling nomads meant they couldn’t afford the best, but that was okay. However, he knew he wanted to give her something that was like a normal childhood to the best of his abilities. He had her dressed for bed, dressed in a simple white nightgown appropriate for her age. As for himself, he had taken off his armor but wore his usual tunic and pants. He sat down on the bed next to her and looked at the time.

Liam informed him that he would come by later to talk about something that was important, but until then… “Sarina,” he called to his daughter who perked her head up upon her name being called. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked her, getting straight to the point, but unlike how he talks with his colleagues, had a fatherly touch to his words.

Sarina soon looked down to the ground, no emotion in her expression. He knew she was nervous though when she looked away. He stayed quiet, patiently waiting for a response. “I…. killed someone,” she said, but in a matter-of-factly tone. Perhaps she was trying to hide her conflicting emotions, or she was unsure how else to process it.

Silence filled the room. He could see her small hands fidgeting with each other. He waited patiently to see if she had more to say.

“It was scary,” she admitted. “But… my head hurt a lot afterwards.” She seemed more worried about what happened after rather than the fact she had killed someone.

Jeralt noted this, but remained calm, his expression unreadable. “Your head hurt?” he repeated.

She nodded her head. “It hurt… really bad,” she said, trying to find the words to describe how she felt. “And then my chest hurt. Does that always happen?” she asked, finally lifting her head to look up at him.

Jeralt pressed his lips into a firm line. Normally, people would be shocked and downright terrified after their first kill. Others they would revel in it, or something akin to that. However, his daughter seemed to be neither of these things, as if accepting that is what happened and leave it at all. Frankly, he didn’t know what to do with that fact. However, he was concerned when she mentioned about the pain. “Not normally,” he admitted.

Sarina’s eyebrows knitted together at the answer. “Will it happen again if I kill someone?” she asked.

Jeralt didn’t have an answer for that. Thankfully, a knock came to the door. He silently thanked the goddess for the quick intervention. “Come in,” he said.

It was Liam. He walked inside, running his fingers through his messy and short cut brown hair. He seemed in much better shaped compared to earlier. “Sorry if I’m disturbing you.” He turned towards Sarina. “’Sup kid?” he addressed.

Sarina just nodded her head in acknowledgement to him. Of course she had little to say.

“So let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” Jeralt stated as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on top of his legs. Liam took a seat in the room, in a nearby empty chair. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Liam pressed his lips together, taking a moment to try to think of how to approach this. “She had her first kill today,” he decided to start with that. He watched Jeralt’s expression, which remained unchanging and unreadable. He didn’t exactly show pride or happiness about the fact. When he only received silence, he continued on. “Now, normally someone dies, and you just move on but… well… After she killed him, she was in pain.” He saw a slight jerk of a reaction from him.

“Yeah, she said she got a bad headache and chest pain… What else?” he asked as he quietly wraps an arm around his daughter’s shoulder. His daughter leans into his embrace and closes her eyes, feeling comfort in his touch.

Liam swallowed. “Her eyes.”

Jeralt’s raised an eyebrow.

“They glowed… and it wasn’t just a normal glow. They changed—Listen Jeralt. She might be your kid, but she isn’t normal,” Liam decided to be truthful. “Listen she’s kind of a… freak.”

Although having no emotions, those words stung. Jeralt could feel his daughter give a twitch, her body stiffening at the words spoken. He gives a narrowed and threatening look to Liam. He gives Liam one more chance to pick his words wisely.

Liam swallowed, knowing he could lose his head here, but he wasn’t done talking. He gives a shuddered breath as he soon leans forward, lowering his head and resting his forehead on top of his clasped hands. “Jeralt, I know you know what’s been going on around here and I won’t lie—she’s not… normal. But… you know, I can’t help but also… I’m kind of glad she isn’t.”

Sarina lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes when he said that. Jeralt seemed a bit amused, but also surprised. He allows him to continue talking and to keep his tongue for the most part.

“She saved my life and well… Pretty sure I wouldn’t be if she didn’t,” he said in a soft voice. He raised his head. “But I know what I saw.”

“You said her eyes… changed. How did they change? What did they look like?” Jeralt asked. He decided to hone into this conversation, as touching as it was that Liam was grateful that his daughter saved his life.

“Um…” Liam took a moment to remember. “Yellow…” he soon recalled. “Golden yellow irises… but then after she seemed to get better, they turned back to normal.”

Silence filled the room. Sarina looked up to her father, wondering if he knew what happened to her. He told her it wasn’t normal to feel pain like that. She could see a grave expression on his face.

He gives a sigh. “So you were one of the pack…” he murmurs to himself.

“Sorry?” Liam said, not catching what he said.

Jeralt shook his head lightly before standing off the bed. He soon turned towards Sarina and gently held her shoulders. “Listen to me kid… This is really important. It’s going to sound scary, but I promise we’ll get through it.”

Sarina blinked once before slowly nodding her head. She remained mute.

Jeralt tried to find the words to explain to where she could understand. “On the next full moon… Something will happen.” She nods her head slowly again as Liam slowly stands from his seat, wondering what he was talking about. He gives a sigh, not realizing how frustrating it was and difficult to explain this situation to his one and only daughter.

Liam began to express impatience. “What’s going to happen Jeralt? Just say it already, she’s not stupid.”

Jeralt gives a glare that pipes Liam down. He looks back to his daughter, taking a breath before finally finding the nerve to just say it.

“You’re going to turn into a wolf.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I did exactly what y'all think I did. For self-indulgence? Yeah. Cringe factor? Yup. Do I care? I'll leave that up for debate.
> 
> Okay but aside from having my share of watching The Vampire Diaries/The Originals, I do want to talk about how I do wish there was animal factor other than Rhea turning into a freaking dragon. BUT. I do understand that the team who made Fire Emblem Three Houses did their best. I guess we technically gave up manaketes/laguz for like demonic beasts. Hm. Food for thought.


	4. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina gains a new friend in her rough childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being original? What's that? Lol jk, but in all honesty, you thought this would be original. Well when it comes a retelling and stealing other aspects of other TV Drama/shows and sprinkling a little of cliches and tropes, you get yourself this. Thanks for the kudos and taking the time to read these chapters though. :thumbsup:
> 
> Thank you for indulging my self-indulgence in this fic.

Liam could barely sleep that night after what he heard. He was tempted to drink but for the first time in his life, he decided to stay sober. He rubbed his face as he recalled last night’s conversation.

_“You’re going to turn into a wolf.”_

_Silence filled the room._

_Liam gives a laugh. “Very funny, Jeralt. And I thought you weren’t one for jokes.”_

_“Does it look like I’m joking?” Jeralt asked in the most serious voice as he glanced back to Liam._

_He was shocked at his serious expression. “What? That’s impossible. Listen, wolves exists sure but people turning into wolves? That’s just… in those scary stories we tell to children to get to pipe down or something.”_

_“Oh you would be surprised,” Jeralt sighs and looks at his daughter’s face. Her expression was just as unreadable as his, but she fidgets with her fingers, showing her uneasiness._

_“Will it… will it hurt?” she simply asks, seeming to believe every word her father said to her. Liam couldn’t believe Jeralt, still in disbelief in his words. This poor kid really thought she was going to turn into a wolf on the next full moon._

_“It will,” Jeralt said, nothing but the truth coming from his voice. “I… I don’t exactly what’s going to happen, but we’ll get through it together. I promise. Nothing bad will happen. It just might be painful the first time.”_

_Sarina became quiet before lowering her head. “I don’t like pain,” she finally said, remembering when her head and her chest hurt. She thought she was going to explode, but didn’t express that._

_However, Jeralt seemed to understand what she was thinking—at least somewhat. “Pain is part of life, kid,” he could only say as he rubs her head. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. It was harsh to say to his own daughter, but the sooner she learned the better, right? “It gets bad at first, but once you accept it, it gets easier. It just might take a while sometimes.” He hoped that last bit gave her some comfort._

_She slowly nods her head against his hand. She looks up to him and then raises her pinky. “Promise?”_

_The action brings a smile from Jeralt. He gives what sounds like half a laugh as he loops his pinky with hers. It was moments like this that makes her seem like a real and normal child. “Promise.”_

_The corners of Sarina’s lips tugged up. This made his heart swell with warmth. She smiled up at him. He didn’t think it was possible._

_This touching moment was quickly interrupted. “Well, this is nice and all but… you’re just not going to explain other than that? Jeralt, I need you to be straight with me.” Liam said to him, his anger and irritation rising by the second._

_Jeralt sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he finally turned towards Liam. “I’ll tell you everything, but… under one condition.” Liam raised an eyebrow. “This doesn’t leave this room. Ever. And if I find out, so the goddess help me—”_

_“Alright, alright, I get it,” Liam acquiesced. He knew when Jeralt was serious, he was serious and he knows he couldn’t rely on the brat this time to get him out of it or trust her to save his life against the Blade Breaker. “Just… how is that possible?”_

_Jeralt takes a moment to sit down back on the bed. He holds his daughter close who nuzzles up against him like a pup would. When Liam thought about it, somehow her actions makes a little sense, but he digresses. “Wolves have always been around of course. They live practically all over the place in different sizes and breeds. Like regular dogs. But there is one pack of wolves that normally not native to this country that are quite particular…”_

_Liam slowly sat back down in his chair as he listened intently._

_“I guess the most common term you would use to describe them are… werewolves,” Jeralt continued._

_“As in… people… who can turn into wolves?” Liam asked._

_Jeralt nodded. “That’s right. No one knows exactly how they came to be or why they were able to do so, but these people—the werewolves—are a special pack of wolves who can control their transformations whenever they want. They’re known as the Cresian Wolf Pack, but we call them Cresian wolves for short.” He watched Liam absorbed the information, letting him process what was said before continuing. “Like I said, no one really knows how they came to be and even I don’t. Some say the goddess gifted her power to them, others say they were cursed. I would’ve gone with the latter quite honestly.”_

_“Why a curse?” Liam asked, curious at the choice of words used._

_Jeralt glanced down to Sarina who looked up to him, intently listening to his story as well. She looked like she was settled in bed already and being told a bedtime story. He rubs her back. “Well these Cresian wolves are essentially just like normal people… No one exactly knows how many of them are now, where they come from, and who they are. However, they are known to be just as dangerous as a wolf, even more so as their strength and speed can get carried over even when they’re not in wolf form. But it’s possible to just have the blood of a Cresian wolf, but not turn into one at all in their life.”_

_Liam’s eyes blinked in curiosity and confusion. He opened his mouth to asked a question, but Jeralt seemed to know what he was going to ask._

_“To be a full fledge werewolf, you need two things… The blood of a Cresian wolf flowing in your veins and…” Jeralt’s expression darkens slightly. “The life of a human.”_

_Liam repeats the words in his head. ‘The life of a human…? Wait. You mean—”_

_“You have to kill someone,” Jeralt clarifies. Sarina stiffens in his arm at the mention. “Hence why I say it’s more like a curse.”_

_“Then….” Liam looks back to Sarina who stared up at her father. For the first time, he seems to see a scared expression on her face, even if it was just slight. “Wait a moment, if you need Cresian blood flowing in your veins… does that mean..” he looks towards Jeralt._

_Jeralt shakes his head in disapproval. “Nice try. No, wrong person. Or rather… wrong parent.” He gives an unreadable expression, as if thinking about something. Liam couldn’t discern what was going through his mind. “Her mother was a Cresian wolf. I didn’t know until now,” he admitted in a gentle voice._

_“This is all… this is a lot Jeralt,” Liam admitted to his leader as he gives a deep breath._

_“Hey if you don’t believe me that’s fine. You can be the judge of whether or not it’s true by the next full moon,” Jeralt stated simply with a hand thrown up and a shake of his head._

_The next full moon… “Wait, if Cresian wolves can control their transformations though, why are you so certain she’ll change at the night of the next full moon then?” Liam asked, seeing a contradiction._

_Jeralt promptly answers, “It seems to be a rite of passage for the pack. Once you kill someone and trigger it, it seems that they can’t control it the first time they change and it’s always under a full moon. But after that, they can turn whenever they want to. It was noted that they seem to want to change the most under a full moon though,” he mentioned as he thought about it for a moment, trying to see if he remembers the details right._

_A deep breath left Liam’s lips. He looks to Sarina to see her reaction. She had none, except she just snuggled into Jeralt’s side. Silence filled the room. Liam had no other words to say._

_“Look it’s been a long day… We can talk more tomorrow if you want but remember… whatever is said in this room, stays here.” Jeralt gives one last warning look to Liam._

_Liam raised his hands in surrender. “I got it, I got it,” he grumbled a bit as he slowly stands up. He looks back at Sarina before scratching his head. “Then… goodnight, Jeralt. Brat.”_

That was all that got said last night before he left the room. He still remembered the conversation clear as day and tried to scrutinize it. Jeralt wasn’t one to joke around about something like that and if he was, then Fodlan would freeze all over. He sighed again as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Oh Liam, you look like hell,” a fellow mercenary stated as they took a seat right next to them after grabbing some grub. “What’s wrong, some lady break your heart?”

“I wish,” Liam stated, really wishing he was dealing with a woman’s problem then this shit. “I just had a rough night, that’s it.”

“Ah no worries, it happens,” his colleague stated and gave him a pat on the back before proceeding to dig into his food. Liam lets out a sigh. If only if it was that simple, he thought to himself. Liam wouldn’t mind an eye opener at this point but suddenly, he didn’t feel like drinking. He just ordered some breakfast from a servant maid of the inn before he felt his arm being tapped on. “Hey, so you know Jeralt’s kid right? You babysit her or something right,” his peer asked him.

Liam felt a headache and the want to drink instantly came to him. “I’m not her babysitter. What about her?” he asked, memories of last night’s conversation hit him.

“Don’t you think she’s kind of creepy? I heard she had her first kill and everything yesterday. Rumors are spreading that she just stared at the man she killed. No remorse or anything. Listen, when I first killed someone, I’ll tell you this, I felt something for that guy.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt his unnerved—no angry. He took a deep breath through his nose as he suppressed his emotions. “She’s a kid, I’m sure she was just shocked.”

“I’m telling you, one of the other guys told me they saw her covered in blood and she just didn’t… react. That’s not normal—” his colleague would feel his foot suddenly being crushed and he lets out a yelp.

“Stop talking about the leader’s kid already, it’s like you’re obsessed with her. Kind of creepy if you ask me,” Liam stated as he stood up.

The colleague looked utterly confused, being sure that Liam was the one who complained about her the most. Just as he was about to question the man, he saw him leaving. “H-hey where are you going?”

“Out.” That was all he said before slamming the door behind him. He needed air. It was too suffocating in there. He wouldn’t kill for a smoke either. Just as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to stalk off somewhere, he looked ahead and saw a small figure swinging a sword. When he squinted, he realized it was Sarina. She was dressed in the same clothes yesterday, her hair tied back into a ponytail with some strands of her hair hanging at the side of her face. Looks like she was doing sword training. Seeing how he didn’t have anything better to do, he decided to walk up to her. He remained quiet the entire trip there and stood a distance from behind. Sarina was doing what she had done yesterday; she was practicing her sword swings from different angles and different directions with her short sword. He recognized a particular technique that she tried to practice—that was his move. He realized she was more observant than he thought she was. He stayed quiet for a few moments and watched her.

Finally, he decided to speak. “Hey, kid,” he said, grabbing her attention.

She immediately stopped and turned her body to his direction. Almost immediately, she walked up to him, tilting her head back so she could look up to him and stare up at him with those dead fisheyes of hers. Before, he thought they were creepy, but now… he thought they weren’t that bad.

He let out a sigh as he spoke again, “You shouldn’t be outside training with that sword. You could give people the wrong idea you know.” It sounded like he was reprimanding her.

She soon lowered her head as she looked at her sword. Silence ensued. The more he looked at her, it kind of looked like she was getting scolded and he scratched the back of his head. She might’ve misunderstood.

“I’m not saying you can’t practice, but, try to practice with a wooden sword when you’re in town and stuff. Got it? You might scare off people, that’s it,” Liam clarified for her. He watched her lift her head up again and then nod again, seeming to understand what he was saying now. He watches her put her sword away but she didn’t have her training sword on her. She looked dejected again. _Goddess, she looks depressed again_ , he thought to himself. He swallowed as he raised his hand and reached forward. He stopped just before he touched her head, hovering his hand above it. Slowly, he placed it down on her head and gave it an awkward pat. This garnered her attention when she looked up at him, surprised by the head pat that she would only receive from her father. “You’re… doing a good job, you know that right?”

She stared up at him, a sparkle seeming to twinkle in her eyes. They weren’t that bad to look at, now that he thinks about it.

He gives her another pat. She seems to accept it. He quickly pulls his hand back as he clears his throat. “Right, anyways…” he crouches down, becoming eye level with her. “Do you really believe all that stuff your dad said to you?”

He sees her nod again. Before he could speak, she said something. “Dad never lies…” She looks down and pokes her fingers together. He realized she was just an awkward kid. An awkward kid who was treated unfairly by everyone—including himself.

Guilt rises up inside him as he watched her. “Alright then… are you scared?” he soon asked. He watched her carefully, her face most of all. Although expression, seemingly devoid of emotion, he sees her head slowly nod. She clasps her tiny hands together and although they didn’t tremble or shake, he could see how her fingers fidgeted together. She was scared. If he was in her shoes—he probably would be too.

He places his hand back on her head, this time to reassure her. “Hey.” Her head lifts up. “It’ll be alright. Your dad and I will be there for you. Got it? So… don’t be scared.” He watches those aquamarine eyes stare up at him before her head nods again. What he didn’t expect was the two words come from her mouth.

“Thank you,” she said quietly and ever so softly.

For the first time, he felt touched and his expression softened. “No problem… brat.”

She seemed to take the nickname affectionately as she nuzzled her head into his hand when he gave her a head rub. For Sarina, that was the start of her childhood easing up.


	5. What Lies Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slight glimpse into Sarina's adolescence years and the concerns that both Jeralt and Liam have for her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to match the characterization to the original Byleth. Based from all the gameplays I have done on Three Houses, it's just simply established Byleth has a pretty freaking well rounded character (allegedly) with of course a more affinity towards swords, brawling, and I'm not gonna lie, for the life I don't quite understand, faith magic. 
> 
> It's not that I don't speculate the reason why, I kind of found it random. But I think through Byleth's characterization, they just seem like the kind of people to try to absorb as much information as they can (or capable of) as they go through their life in the monastery. 
> 
> Also, tbh I wish there was more about Jeralt characterization!! Tbh I just see him as this gruff, burly dad who's intimidating and menacing looking, but he's soft. I would think it would be more so especially if he had a daughter compared to a son.
> 
> Thanks for the support for my terrible unoriginal self-indulgence btw.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

9 years later

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

The sounds of swords clashing could be heard in the air. Sounds of people rolling against the ground, the sounds of grunts, heavy pants and puffs of air—all these sounds lead to the conclusion of people sparring with one another. Jeralt takes a swig from his flask as he watches the scene before him: Liam swings his sword down to his opponent who was none other than Sarina. She has come a long way. She parries his attack, quickly misdirecting the sword as she brings her foot up and kicks him straight in the gut, the heel of her shoe sharply digging into his stomach. She was unapologetic in the action as Liam stumbled back and let out a cough, holding his midsection. Before he could quickly recover and hold his sword up in front of him again, it was knocked out of his hands and he could feel the cold steel of the blade pressed against his neck, but not hard enough to draw blood. “Alright, alright I yield. Yeesh, who’re you learning these moves from, brat?” he asked as he felt the blade retract.

The girl in front of him held no emotion as per usual, not even an apology for her earlier move that was deem unnecessary. It seems victory was only on her mind. Despite this, her actions and movement were skilled and precise, as well as controlled and purposeful. She never goes beyond the boundary she intends to. “You,” she answers promptly with a deadpanned look. Jeralt could only chuckle in amusement at the answer while Liam gives a bit of an annoyed look.

“Well you can’t use those on me,” he mutters.

“Come on, what’s the point of learning it if she can’t use it?” Jeralt asks as he stands up from the stump he had been sitting on. He puts away his flask and walks towards the duo. He still easily towers over his daughter; however, he silently misses the times where he could just scoop her up into his arms. He doesn’t show it as he places his hand on her head, giving it a rub like he normally does. He ruffles her hair up a bit. Despite all these years, she still has a habit of happily pressing her lips together, her cheeks flushing a light red color in delight as she nuzzles her head back into his touch.

“You’re going to spoil the kid,” Liam reprimands his leader as he crosses his arms in front of his chest before looking at the ground and going to pick up his weapon.

“Come on, you got to admit, she’s been doing a good job.”

The past 9 years has been quaint. Something Jeralt would have never expected quite honestly. His daughter was now 17 years old and her swordsmanship has improved greatly since she first started. She seemed to have an affinity for learning and absorbing information all around. She has picked up other skills as she grew up in this diverse band of mercenaries. A mercenary archer taught her way around with a bow; someone who was fairly good with a lance taught her some basic techniques of how to wield one and teaching her the advantages and disadvantages; someone who was good with an axe showed her.a few tricks of how it can be a reliable weapon and not just swinging it around. She had some interest in magic, particularly faith magic, but they didn’t have anyone who was skilled in the art of faith or reason magic so she had been learning from books that they could get their hands on, but none that could really teach her. With no proper teacher, she focused on physical weaponry and tactics. She still has problems talking to others, being a young woman of few words (something she unfortunately inherited from him), however, she was effectively making her way in becoming second-in-command of this group. She was a rather well-rounded person. He has seen her train day and night to soak up knowledge and skills everyone including himself, but he knows her true proficiency lies in her swordsman skills. He was proud of her, even if he didn’t express it often himself. Hence the headpats and rubs, quite honestly. 

“Why don’t you take a break, brat? Your old man and I need to have an adult talk here,” Liam stated, shooing her off.

She lowered her head a bit. “I’m 17,” she stated. Liam swore she was pouting. If she was, he couldn’t tell.

“Take a break, kid,” Jeralt followed up. “Go check up on Rienne,” he suggested, talking about his mare. Sarina nodded her head simply and without another word, or response, she walked off to tend to his stallion. He looked back to Liam and placed his hand on his hip. “When are you going to stop calling her a brat?” he asked suddenly.

A sigh left Liam’s lips, frustrated that this is how Jeralt started the small talk. “As long as I damn well please. That brat caused me hell when she was younger you know.”

“Is that right?” Jeralt asked as he chuckled, thinking about the times Liam complained. “So what’s up? You look troubled and I know when you’re troubled, there’s something going on. Spill.” He always straight to the point.

Liam appreciated that in Jeralt and felt at ease around him. He looked towards the direction of Sarina who was feeding Jeralt’s horse and petting her mane. She seemed rather attached to the horse, which would be natural. They grew up together in a manner of speaking. “Maddie is trying to lead a coup or something against you. She’s still pretty pissed at what happened in the last battle.”

A tired sigh escaped Jeralt’s lips. “And how’s that going for her?” he asked, seeming unconcerned about it.

A shrug came from Liam. “No one doesn’t really support her, but no one is really rejecting her if that makes any sense. But I think it’s expected… She’s still in mourning.”

“Right… Nonin died right? Does she even know the circumstance that happened?” Jeralt asked as he decided to take a seat back on the dead tree stump, realizing this was going to be a long talk.

“I don’t think anyone has the heart to tell her. Not only that…” Liam’s eyes looked back towards Sarina again. “Brat says she doesn’t want to make it more complicated than it already is. And… she does have kind of a good point though. If Maddie and whoever else wants to leave, it wouldn’t really be detrimental and not only that, it might actually be good for her. She’s been a pain in my neck for as long as I can remember, but it was only worse with that bastard Nonin and now that he’s gone…”

Jeralt just shook his head. “Let’s not speak ill of the dead for now. As much of a bastard Nonin was, I don’t want to have a guilty conscious on my mind,” he admitted.

“Right, sorry,” Liam apologized, albeit, half-heartedly. A moment of silence filled the air between them. “You know what they’ve been calling your daughter recently?”

Something akin to half of a laugh left Jeralt’s mouth. “What?” he asked, genuinely curious and expecting to get a good laugh from it.

“The Ashen Demon.” Liam shook his head. “They make her sound like a monster.”

This did get a good laugh from Jeralt when he heard the title. “Well, you used to think so, didn’t you?”

Liam’s face scrunched up, giving a guilty expression. “Key words: used to,” he emphasized, refusing to admit to his fault directly, which elicit a chuckle from his leader. “I guess they can say whatever they want. Kind of gives a nice touch to our reputation if you think about it—the Blade Breaker and the Ashen Demon. What a duo,” he gave a boisterous laugh, that seemed to embarrass Jeralt at such titles being said out loud.

“Knock it off, will ya?” Jeralt said to him, tempted to throw something at him. He looks over to watch his daughter who is quietly enjoying her time with the horse. He soon looks off in the distant and just barely in view was the monastery that he left so many years ago. He slowly gets up from where he sits and dusts his pants off. “Come on, it’s time to get moving.”

“We got a contract or something?” Liam asks as he follows Jeralt’s lead.

“I’m thinking we should start traveling up north for some work,” he suggested. “A nice change of pace would be nice.”

“Ugh. I hate cold weathers,” Liam complained. The two old men banter with one another as they made their way to meet up with the young girl, who remains unaware of everything around her, except for one thing: a voice of a young girl who says these few words.

“It is almost time…. To begin.” 


	6. The Bandit Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another 4 years pass. Sarina gets a familiar dream that has plagued for years, however, her dreams takes a turn for the strange. She dreams of the war and the pointed ear girl, however, with these dreams also bring an ominous feeling. She does not have time to dwell over these dreams as she finds herself quickly thrusted into another battle, however, one that allows her to meet the fated leaders that will change Fodlan's future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe I have established this is a retelling of basically three houses in my own perspective. It's essentially almost a recreation, however, while I do use the game's script as a guide for my writing, I do intend to add more original scenes. I think in the beginning stages of the next few chapters it might be almost a one-for-one recreation from the game, but I'm hoping as I continue to write, it'll become more of my writing than the game's. 
> 
> With that being said, that doesn't mean I won't stop adding my own cringe-factor into my story lmao. Thanks for supporting my cringey self-indulgence though. 
> 
> A side note: I am notoriously famous for never proof-reading my writing, but I typically go back at a later time to re-read what I wrote and fix it later. Apologies for any mistakes you may see.
> 
> Edited note: I actually changed the birthday from Blue Sea Moon to Garland moon bc... I horribly mixed up the dates.

* * *

_Two people face each other in the middle of a desert field. A woman with long green seafoam hair, pulled back into a braid and dressed in clothes fit for a warrior woman, almost like a Greek Goddess who was ready to rain her judgement down. Across from her was a tall, burly man, covered in scars and only having armor that draped his left arm, two protruding horns on his left shoulder. Upon closer inspection, it looks like a face of a demonic beast almost. In his right hand, he wields a glowing sword that seems to sing painfully. At the groove in the middle and at the bottom of the blade lies a stone as well. Behind each person lies a large army on either side. Neither side makes a move, let alone a sound, as if allowing their fates to be determined by these two people who face each other. The woman looks at the man with pure scorn and contempt. She is the first to draw her sword and charges to him. The man only grins as he prepares for her attack._

_Their blades clashes with one another, but only briefly. The woman jumps back as she grounds herself before rushing in again at the man. Their blades clash again and again, the man parrying her attack each time with near delight at the adrenaline of the fight. The man will take the initiative and charge forward himself, wielding his sword with one hand and swinging it down with great weight. She blocks his movements with both her sword and her shield in alternating patterns. It almost felt like they were locked in a stalemate as their soldiers watched on._

_They gave one last clash of sword, pushing one another in their blades. The man lets out what sounds like a low growl, while the woman lets out struggling grunt, her eyes filled with hate for him. He successfully pushes her back before bringing his leg up to knee her. When she takes a moment to recover, he uses this to unsheathe the true strength of his blade. He swings it like a whip, and he does, the blade bursts open into smaller pieces of itself, connected by a strong and thick wire that can seeming elongate itself endlessly. He swings the tip of the blade towards the woman who uses her sword to knock the trajectory of its path from her midsection. The man continues to swing his sword in consecutive moves, continuously finding their way back to her. However, she swiftly dodges them and crouches from the last move. Finally, the whip of the sword wraps itself around her sword and she struggles against the his immense strength to pull it from her, or even the woman herself to him. He grins widely in triumph._

_Unexpectedly, she throws her sword to the side, discarding it and with her strength, effectively pulls his own weapon from his hands. At the same time, she begins to rush towards him, raising her fist up before pummeling it into his face. He is knocked back while she jumps up in the air and lands a fierce kick to his face. He falls backwards to the ground, quickly attempting to get back up, however, he was too slow as he is quickly pinned down by the woman, the sharp blade of a dagger pressed against his chest. She leans into his face as she scowls at him, growling, “Tell me, Nemesis. Do you recall the Red Canyon?” He stares up into her eyes and without waiting a response, she raises her blade and stabs it into his chest, not once, not twice, but thrice. Each time, she yells out, “You’ll die for that! Die! Die!”_

_When it seemed like it was over, she raises her blade once more to stab into his body one last time, while yelling out, “You took…. Everything that I loved.” She leaves her dagger into his lifeless body as she looks up, the sun slowly rising to shine upon her face as her soldiers cheer for her victory from behind. She heeds no mind to them or to anything else as she pries herself from her enemy’s body. She peers around the field and sees her sword as well as the man’s. Her eyes are only on the sword that the man wield as she walks over to it, dropping to her knees and picking it up with her bloodied hands. It is also stained with blood, but it matters not to her as she brings it up to her face carefully, pressing it to her cheek affectionately as she says softly, as it was a real person. “He’s gone now, Mother…” She opens her eyes in relief, seemingly satisfied with her revenge._

* * *

With a gasp, she took a sharp breath into her lungs. She felt sweat run down her forehead, and she turned her head slightly to the side, seeing the open window. It was still nighttime? She closed her eyes again, attempting to sleep again. However, when she began to lull back to sleep, she saw an image of a girl with pointed ears… an imp? No, she was a child. She could see her lift her head off the stone surface of the armrest, fluttering her eyes open before they met with her own. She woke up again. Or so she thought. Expecting to find herself in her bed and in her room, she was not. She looked around, seeing nothing but darkness, except for the green light that was emitted in front of her. She looked towards the source and it was the girl who sat upon her throne, looking down at her with amusement. She blinked once, but no expression of surprise found across her face.

“I wonder how you got in here…” The girl mused, as she rested her cheek on her small hand, her arm propped up on the armrest of the throne she sat on. “It is most rude to interrupt a moment of repose.” She seemed to scan Sarina up and down. “Very rude indeed. Now come to me. I wish to have a look at you,” she demanded.

Sarina has… seen her before. Unexpectedly, she found herself walking towards the pointed ear girl, just stopping shy at the bottom of the staircase she didn’t realize was here. Up those steps led right up to her, but she didn’t dare ascend upon them. Her aquamarine eyes stared up at the pointed ear girl, wondering who she was. She didn’t think about things often, but this was the first time she did—the first time she felt question form in her mind and yet she couldn’t bring herself to voice them. Often, she forgot she had a voice of her own to use. But the first thing she wanted to ask her was… why did she feel like she knew her?

The pointed ear girl looked her up and down, causing a slight feeling of discomfort to Sarina. Sarina stood straight, standing at her full height of 5’3”, her blue hair falling down past her shoulders and her bangs swept to the right of her face, hanging alongside it. The pointed ear girl treated her like she was a spectacle to see. “Hmm…” she hums. “I have not seen the likes of you before. Who are you, anyway?” she asked.

Sarina feels sweat run down at the side of her neck. That’s what she wants to ask her, but she keeps it to herself. “I’m… a human?” she said, almost unsure herself, but really wasn’t quite sure how to answer the question.

“I see.” The pointed ear girl hums. “Then you must have a name of sorts. Go on,” she encouraged with the gesture of her hand.

As this dragged on, Sarina felt more uncomfortable as the conversation went on. She wasn’t used to this other than sending out orders on behalf of her father in the battlefield. “Sarina Daciana Eisner,” she said her full name.

A hum drums out as soft tapping could be heard against the stoned armrest. “Huh. I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names. You must possess a day of birth as well. Beneath which moon and on what day were you born to this world?”

“Do you… ask so many questions?” Sarina asked in response as she looked up at her.

“How rude,” the girl said indignantly as she crossed her arms. “It is only natural for me to be curious about you is it not? As I am only capable of talking to you and you alone.” Sarina didn’t know how to respond to that before lowering her head, as if in shame. “Now go on, when were you born?”

She felt like sighing. “18th of the Garland Moon,” she answers the girl, however, she gets a displeased look as a response.

“How odd… That’s not the day of birth I would recall,” she stated as she raised a hand up to rest her cheek on. Sarina raised an eyebrow, confused at what she meant. “Are you sure that is your day of birth?” she asked, leaning forward as if to take a closer look at her.

Sarina’s eyebrows knitted together. “Why wouldn’t it be my day of birth? I’ve celebrated it every year on that day…” She said, feeling this uncomfortable negative feeling in her chest. Was she mad? Or mildly upset? She wasn’t sure how to describe it, not being very good with emotions. However, she remained calm.

The girl hummed. “Well, nonetheless… I am sure we share a day of birth, but that is not the date I had in mind.” She lets out a sudden yawn, beginning to lower her head as she crosses her arms along the armrest of the throne. She closes her eyes as she says tiredly, “I think it may be time for yet another nap… It is almost… time to… begin…” she says slowly as her voice drawls out to a stop.

Sarina felt a rush of familiarity of those words and before she could say something, the girl and the throne seemed to disappear, and everything turns pitch black. That’s when she opens her eyes, reawaking in her room once more. As her eyes shot open, she hears a familiar man’s voice coming into her room. “Hey. Time to wake up.” Slowly, she sits up in her bed, rubbing her eyes, feeling drowsiness still overwhelming her and threatening to lull back to sleep. Normally she didn’t feel like this. She looks up to the owner of the voice: her father. He gives her a look before asking, “Were you having that dream again?” She wondered how he could tell when she hadn’t said anything, but she didn’t realize that he could see the tiredness on her face even though she was surely have gotten more than enough hours of rest.

Sarina thought for a moment, as if needing to recall what she had dreamt up despite just having it. It was like it was slipping from her mind as quickly as it came. “I was dreaming about a young girl…” she answered. “And… a war,” she added. She wasn’t sure which one took precedent.

Jeralt looks at her as he holds his chin briefly as he processes her response. “You told me these dreams before,” he begins to say. “However, I haven’t met anyone like the girl you describe and that war you’re describing is probably just a bad dream. There hasn’t been one in over three centuries you know.” He was sure the dreams she was having were just that: dreams. At least, he seemed to silently hope it was as Sarina lowered her head and kept her gaze at her hands. She didn’t seem to think so and he knew it. He softens a bit. “For now, put that out of your mind. You should get out of bed and get ready—we’re going to the Kingdom after all. It’s a long ride from here so it’s best that we leave at dawn.”

Her head tilts up as she quickly remembered that he had accepted a job offer from up north. Or at least that’s what he tells her. She nods her head, brushing her bangs from her face as she says, “Of course.” She pushes her legs to the side of her bed and pulls herself out of it. She rubbed her neck, massaging the kink out of it. She felt like she had slept, but she didn’t feel rested for some reason. Was it because of her dreams? She wasn’t sure. She looks back to her father as she picks up her, carefully putting her arms through the open sleeves. She gives a quick run through of her hair with her fingers, smoothing it out. It was getting rather long she noted, seeing it go past her mid back now. Her thoughts returned back to her dreams as she stood over the nightstand, gathering her hair into a ponytail before wrapping it around in itself. With one hand, she held her hair in a messy bun as she picked up an intricately designed hair clamp, clipping it into her hair that firmly kept her bun in place, save for a few strands that poked out. 

As Jeralt watched her. He noted how time keeps slipping right by him. She was now 20 years old and just in a few months, she will be 21. He seems to be able to sense her silent distress and attempts to assure her. “Hey, remember. The battlefield isn’t a place for idle thoughts. Risking your life is part of the job for people like us, so don’t let your mind wander too much. It could get you killed out there.” He sees her nod in understanding as she begins to relax. He walks over and carefully places his hand on top of her head. When did she get so big already? Almost immediately, she nuzzles her head back into his hand. It has become second nature to her now to respond to that action. “It’ll be alright, kid. I think you just had a bad dream.”

Finally, the feeling of reassurance settled in her and she nods against his hand. Just as she sees him give a slight smile down at her, someone bursts into the room. “Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed.”

A sigh almost leaves his lips but considering how urgent it looked, he maintained a serious expression as he looks towards the mercenary that rushed in. “What’s happened?” he asks. Sarina steps up beside him as she finished placing her sheathed sword around her belt, letting it rest at her hip and adjusts her hidden dagger behind her back. She fixes her hair up into a ponytail, expecting to deploy immediately considering the atmosphere.

“There are three children who are outside. They don’t seem to be around here, however, they are requesting for our immediate help right, saying there are bandits on the loose after them.”

Jeralt’s expression scrunches a bit, turning a bit more serious than before. He was curious who the people were, but with the mention of children, he didn’t hesitate to move forward. “Come on, let’s go.” He says to his daughter who nods and follows him out of the house. They followed the mercenary who leads them to the children that requested their help. Sarina couldn’t help but feel her own curiosity be piqued as well.

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“Lucky us that we managed to run into a band of mercenaries in these parts huh?” A tall, brown-tanned with dark brown short haired boy says, as a braided hair strand hangs at the side of his face, while the rest of his locks seem to fly in different directions.

“No thanks to you,” a girl with white colored hair and light lavender eyes says in slight annoyance, brushing some of her strands behind her shoulders as her purple ribbons stay in place.

“Please, this isn’t the time to argue,” another boy, having fair skin with that seemed to compliment the yellow strawed locks he possess and the pale blue eyes. He looks up as he hears the mercenary that they beseeched to earlier return with two other people. His eyes fall upon the tall and gruff man that walks before them, who places his hand on his hip as he gives a questioning look to the three. The blond hair boy was the first to speak in his presence. “Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn’t bother you were the situation not dire,” he begins as he gives a polite bow to him, holding his lance in his hand and positioned in a way that he is held behind him in a non-threatening manner. He turns and soon notes the young woman that stood close but a few steps behind him.

Sarina looks up to see the three children. If she could call them that. They were more like teens—she squints momentarily—they were teens upon closer inspection of their faces. She remains quiet, allowing her father to do the talking, but as she reads the atmosphere and the situation, she could tell this was a serious matter and they would have to take action soon. While Jeralt approached the three children—teenagers—the mercenary that reported to Jeralt earlier spoke to Sarina, giving a quick debrief before needing to back to check the situation. “Spread the men along the village borders and tell our archers to get on high ground.” She soon tells him before thinking for a moment. “Shoot on sight on any bandit. Cautiously.” She adds, not wanting any of their members to get caught in the crossfire. The mercenary nods as they run off. She turns back to hear her father respond to the boy.

Jeralt analyzes the boy as he spoken to him and sees he wasn’t just some commoner, especially with the clothes he was wearing. “What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?” he asks, even though he was already informed of the situation beforehand. He wanted to confirm it for himself.

“We’re being pursued by a group of bandits,” the boy promptly responds. “I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support,” he requests, hope shining in his eyes. The girl beside him doesn’t give an expectant look as if she doesn’t believe that help would be offered as she grips the handle of her axe in her hand. The other boy remained calm and relax as he casually shifts his weight onto one foot and rests a fist on his hip, the other hand holding a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back.

“Bandits? Here?” Jeralt repeated. When he first heard the situation, it was a bit unbelieving as they had just cleared up this area not too long ago, and now there was another bandit raid coming up and they seemed set on these three children.

“It’s true,” the girl says suddenly to support the boy’s claims. “They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp.”

The tanned boy pipes in as well. “We’ve been separated from our companions and we’re outnumbered. They’re after our lives… not to mention our gold,” he casually slides in, a confident smile gracing his lips. It sounded like he was offering a deal to Jeralt, something he immediately notes.

Jeralt doesn’t bite. “I’m impressed you’re staying so calm considering the situation,” he admits as he looks at the three. However, upon closer inspecting, his eyes narrow slightly. “Wait. That uniform…”

Before he could get a response from any of them, the same mercenary rushes in. “Sir! Bandits were just spotted just outside the village. They’re about to come in, and damn… there are a lot of them. We counted more than 10, but there might be more. We need your help right away! We’re holding them off for now but some of them slipped into the village,” he reports.

“I guess they followed you all the way here. We can’t abandon this village now,” Jeralt states. “Alright, hurry and get back to the others. Sarina,” he turns towards his daughter. Apparently, his address to his daughter suddenly brings her presence to the other three. They seemed surprised to see someone who was the same age, or at least a couple years older than them, with a group of mercenaries. The girl felt instant discomfort when all eyes laid on her, but she focused on her father when he spoke to her.

“You’re in charge of these kids. I’ll be right there with you,” he said to her. “Drive the bandits out with them.”

Sarina looked back. She had noted each of them had a preferred weapon. The tanned boy with the bow, the blonde boy with the lance, and the white-haired girl with the axe. She thought for a moment to herself and having her own sword, the situation might fare well with them. Although, she wasn’t sure how to feel about fighting alongside children—teenagers—but her father gave a look that stated she was in good hands and that she didn’t have to worry about them. She pursed her lips. She looked back at the three who seemingly stared back. She said nothing.

Jeralt gave her a head pat and looked back to the three. “You will be in good hands, just follow her lead.” Without waiting for a response from anyone, he walked off.

“Well—” the tanned skinned boy began to speak, but Sarina began to walk off, expecting them to follow. The white-haired girl covered her mouth to hide a smile and a chuckle that he had been ignored before following Sarina’s lead while the tanned skin boy stood frozen, his mouth slightly hanging open in a comedic manner. The blond-haired boy was just as dazed before quickly patting his friend’s shoulder and urging to not lag behind. The tanned skinned boy finally sighed as he jogged to catch up with them.

The white-haired girl walked up beside Sarina startling her a bit. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you it’s just that…” Sarina raised an eyebrow. “You have a strange aura about you… You are a mercenary like the rest?” Sarina just nods. The girl presses her lips together in a thin line from the lack of words she gives. Before she opens her mouth, she notices the woman’s demeanor change.

Sarina looked ahead as a mercenary carrying a fellow colleague on his shoulders approach her. “It’s looking bad! Our archers are doing their best to hold them back for now, but it’s only a matter time until they catch them.”

“Understood,” she said as she directed towards behind her. “Go ahead and get them to safety, we’ll handle the situation.” She looked back to the three teens. “We have to hurry.” Soon enough, she began to run off towards the border of Remire village. She didn’t notice the dazed looks on the three’s faces as she spoke.

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Even before they reached the entrance of the village, houses were already being burned to the ground but thankfully, the villagers were evacuated and taken to a safe place. At least Sarina was hoping that most of them have. She could hear a yell come from a distant and sees an archer dodging close swings of a bandit. She charges in, taking the element of surprise as she unsheathes her sword. “Hah!” she yells as she slashes her sword across the bandit’s back. She hears the last cry of pain from them as she watches them drop their weapon and fall to the ground. She looks up to the archer and sees they came out mostly unscathed and an empty quiver. “We’ll take it from here,” she tells them who only nods and runs off for safety or at least finding another means to defend themselves. Either way, she steps over the dead body before her without a hint of remorse. The three behind her seemed unnerved by her unflinching attitude, taking a life as easily as it came. They continued to follow, but they seemed to be on guard.

Sarina’s ears perked up as she yells to the one with the bow, “Draw an arrow.” She turns towards the one with the lance. “On my right,” she turns towards the girl with the axe. “On my left. Now!” As if instincts seemed to take over without registering the thought these were commands from a foreigner, they did as they were told. She silently notes they have been in battle before and been under someone’s commands. Nonetheless, a group of bandits appeared, and she head in first. She stepped forward as she raised her sword, swinging in a downward motion and clashing it with a bandit’s axe. She hears on her left of a bandit crying out in pain before quickly being silence by the swing of an axe. To her right, she hears grunts of another bandit and a curse. “Damn you!” She glances over to her right to see the boy stab his lance into their shoulder and almost mercilessly drag them to him while it was still embedded, roughly thrusting a fist into their face as they fall off the lance and into the ground. As she was distracted, another bandit begins to head towards her before an arrow is launched past her and into their head. A clean, swift shot. She blinks once and looks behind her, the tan skinned boy giving her a wink and a two-finger salute, as if wanting her to praise him for his fine marksmanship. She does no such thing as she turns back to the front and leads the small group forward.

They fended off the first wave of bandits and are quickly met with another wave. Her sword is clashed with a bandit’s sword, both of them locked into a battle of strength now as they pushed against one another. The bandit gives her a salacious look, their lips being wetted by their tongue. “Ya pertty one. Why doncha put that sword and I’ll treat ya real nice, kay?” She doesn’t react to his words; however, she takes advantageous of his ‘sweet’ talk to her as she pushes forward with more strength, causing him to stumble backwards, but not enough where he falls. He frowns in displeasure, but his expression is quickly replaced with one of shock and pain as she embeds her fist into him, delivering a quick but effective punch into the solar plexus. She watches him fall to his knees quickly before she pierces her sword straight into his heart. Quick. Efficient. She moves on without a second thought.

She doesn’t notice a pair of eyes watching her; it was the blond-haired boy, seeming quietly unnerved, but almost astonished by her battle prowess. He is quickly brought back to reality as his friend slaps his shoulder playfully saying, “Hey I know she’s pretty and all but don’t relax just yet.” The boy feels his cheeks flushed.

“Th-that’s not it at all!” he quickly denies as he begins to move quickly to keep up with the woman’s pace. The tan skinned boy just grins and laughs as he stays just a couple steps behind to act as their support.

The white-haired girl keeps her eyes on the woman as well as she states, “I have to say though, she certainly is quite the mercenary.” She soon follows up, keeping her axe close. Her eyes hold a cautionary look to them as she watches the woman cut down another of their foe. She looks to her left and stops as a bandit charge towards her. She swiftly ducks the slash of their sword before digging the blade of her axe into the abdomen. They quickly cry out in pain as they fall back into the ground, left to bleed out.

They finally reached the border of the village. She scans the immediate area and so far they weren’t met with another wave. This allowed for some respite and a breather; however, they must keep their guards up as she’s unsure when an enemy may appear. She feels someone suddenly approaching her and she tenses, turning around only to be met with the blond haired boy, who was startled by her sudden turn before quickly composing himself. “I would like to give my brief gratitude to you, we are in your debt. Thank you for letting us work with you to drive these bandits out,” he said to her.

She says nothing but gives a nod.

A laugh comes from behind. “Hey, it’s because of you guys that I’m not dead right now. It is unexpected to see mercenaries such as you in some village like this,” the tan skinned boy stated as he smiles casually.

“Now is not the time to chatter about, there are still enemies roaming about. It would do you good to stay focus,” the white-haired girl reprimands the two boys, seeming to act as the voice of reason and logic of the group.

Sarina couldn’t help but think how peculiar they all were… She does note their casualness despite being in a battle like this. She expected this from people such as her group, but never from a band of teenagers. Her ears perk up as she looks out to the distance, towards a small forestry that lies just ahead. She steps forward which garners their attention. “Get out of the way!” she suddenly yells as she raises her sword and at the same time, an arrow is launched towards her from one direction, but in another, another arrow is also launched. She jumps to the side, breaking into a roll to break her fall and to quickly land back on her feet.

The others separate from one another, the blond-haired boy narrowly dodging the arrow. The tan skinned boy raises his bow as he notches an arrow, aiming it at the forestry before letting it loose. “Damn, can’t see a damn of where they are in there.”

“There’s only 2 archers in there,” Sarina states to them, unknowing of two pairs of eyes who look at her incredulously at the statement. Her eyes are trained in the area. For a brief moment, they seem to almost shimmer in a golden glow as the moonlight passes over them. She hears the sound of a horse approaching from behind, but she doesn’t turn back to see who it was—she already knows as she hears the rider’s voice.

“Sorry I’m late. Is anyone hurt?” he asks and looks at the three teenagers and then her daughter. “Looks like I made it in time.” He looks at his daughter again to see her trained at the forestry. “It would be good to take up position in the forest. We can protect ourselves from them for a short while.”

Sarina nods in agreement. “There’s two archers that seem to have a same idea, but we’re going to need to approach cautiously,” she states and looks towards the blond-haired boy. “You, you’re with me. Stay at my side,” she looks back to the other two, “Both of you will act as support, especially you with the bow. We’ll draw the archers out and then when you see their position, you take them down.”

The tan skinned boy taps his bow against his shoulder as he grins. “That sounds like a good plan so far. I like a lady who knows how to take charge,” he said as he flashes of what seems to be his signature grin and a flirtatious wink, but suddenly he could feel himself sweating at the back of his neck as he feels a glare on him. He looked back to see Jeralt giving a displeased look. He was unaware of why he felt discomfort.

The blond-haired boy gives a nod, a beat and a half late though. “R-right, as you say,” he said.

“Typical that I have to cover you Claude,” the white-haired girl simply states, falling in line with the chain of command now, readily adapting.

“Well looks like you four have it covered; I’ll take the surrounding area then. Don’t let your guard down now, practice what you learned Sarina,” he says as Sarina nods her head to him. She turns back to the forestry area, taking the first step.

“Let’s go,” she says to the blond-haired boy who quickly follows, readying his lance and taking the necessary precaution. The other two would follow Sarina’s lead, but they remain relatively behind, but close enough where the tan skinned boy, Claude, can take his shots at the hidden archers. Her eyes scan the immediate area from left to right. The blond-haired boy stays in her blind spot, but she could tell that he scans in his own immediate sight, prepared to cover her. She holds her sword closer to her, similarly, prepared to cover him. A shuffle in the leaves happen and she stops for half a beat. She takes a large step forward and immediately, an enemy mercenary jumps out from a hidden part of the forestry, swinging his sword down. She brings her sword, ready to block it, however, she feels a lance being thrusted past her and into the mercenary. The mercenary coughs out blood as the tip of the lance’s blade pierced into his chest before being promptly retracted. She takes the opportunity to thrust her sword forward and impale the mercenary. She pushes the now dead body off the blade as she glanced back to the boy who gives her an assured smile, as if to say she was in good hands with him.

She blinked; a strange feeling felt in her chest. However, she had no time to dwell on it as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down and towards her, ducking alongside him as an arrow hit past them. It would’ve been most likely their head if she didn’t react quickly enough. Before the two could stand back up, the sound of someone yelling out and a body hitting the ground, as if they fell out of a tree could be heard. She looked up, carefully rising up. It was the archer that shot the arrow, dead on the ground with an arrow embedded in their chest, right where their heart was. What a lucky shot… She quickly realized it was from Claude. Such scary eyesight, she noted quietly, but there was another archer that was left. She raises her sword up, carefully blocking the boy who was still stunned when she had pull him to the ground unexpectedly. Just as the boy gripped his lance in his arms and stood behind her, being back to back, as they tried to look for the final archer while being prepared for another unexpected attack. Her expression hardens on her face.

The blond-haired boy glances side to side as his back was pressed against Sarina’s. He looks ahead as he hears shuffling in the leaves. “Die!!” a bandit would yell as they charge towards him. Almost on instinct, he charges forward, lance ready at the hand. He swings his lance at the bandit who jumps back, but not without a cut on his chest. They hissed at the pain but rush forward, swinging their axe from above. The boy brings his lance up and holds it with both hands, blocking the axe as it hits the handle. The bandit grins down at the boy, confident that he will kill them. However, he seems sorely mistaken as an arrow is shot at him and in the arm. “Gah!” the bandit lets out as he was forced to pull back, the gripping his axe tightly in his hand but bringing it towards the shoulder that was hit by the arrow. Being distracted by the pain, the boy takes the opportunity to lunge at the bandit, yelling out his battle cry as he thrusts his lance forward, letting it run through the bandit’s chest. The bandit coughs out blood, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he falls backwards.

Sarina is impressed by his skills and looked back towards Claude who readies another arrow, trying to find the other archer. The girl fends off an approaching bandit that was prepared to attack Claude. She was amazed by their sense of teamwork, but she had a feeling it was also lacking. She turns around to the blond-haired boy who looks back to her. Their eyes meet as he smiles at her again. Was he trying to assure her? She couldn’t tell. She sees shuffling high in the tree and she runs forward towards him, grabbing his arm like before, roughly pulling to the side and almost pushing him down to the ground. As she did, an arrow is launched, and it lands into her shoulder. She grits her teeth together, a pained expression shown across her face. “Claude!” she hears the white-haired girl yell at him, and at the call, an arrow is sent flying to the tree. A scream could be heard as the archer fell to his death.

“Are you okay?!” She hears the blond-haired boy ask as he scrambles to his feet and attempt to help her. She holds her hand up to him to stop him wordlessly. She proceeds to swiftly pull the arrow out, the head of covered in her blood. She throws it to the side, and she takes a moment to inspect it.

A minor wound, she thought it was. She just pulls her coat closer to cover it for now and looks for the opening of the forestry path. “Let’s go,” she commands, stepping forward.

The blond-haired boy seems to want to protest, but the white-haired girl suddenly appeared beside him. “This is a battle, Dimitri. We cannot lag behind over every little wound that happens,” she reprimands. He reluctantly agrees with a small nod as he grabs his lance and follows Sarina.

“Damn, that looked like a bad wound though,” Claude decides to say, as if voicing their collective thoughts. “Be sure to get that check afterwards okay?”

Sarina says nothing. She didn’t think it was a big deal as they exit the forestry area. She looked back at the three and they all began to settle into a short conversational banter, Claude being both reprimanded and praised for his skills. Dimitri, the blond-haired boy, was reprimanded by the girl for his carelessness and one-track mind, but Claude was quick to point out that she didn’t have much of a role to contribute except protecting him. She seemed to take offense and retorted every role, no matter how small or big, was important.

She looked ahead and could see a small group of three, and one of them particularly stood out. He stood tall and wide with shaggy light brown hair and an untrimmed beard. She could bet a cup of spirits that was the leader. “Looks like we found the leader,” she voiced the discovery to the three, that quickly quieted them all. Before any of them could respond, she quickly rushed forward to approach.

The bandit leader was getting angry and anxious it seems, looking around as if looking for something—or someone. “Gah! Why are there mercenaries in this village? This wasn’t how this was supposed to go,” he growls. In his peripheral vision, he sees someone approaching. He turns and sees Sarina and lets out a snarl. “Hey, you with the blank stare, out of my way!” he yells as he brings up his axe and begins to charge at her. Sarina stops and allows him to come towards her, her own sword raise. It wouldn’t be long until they locked blades, stuck in a standstill battle of strength. “I said outta of my way!” he yells at her as he pushes her back.

Sarina’s strength was overpowered as she stumbled, but she remained calm as she quickly regained her sense of balance. She sees him swinging his blade over towards her and she jumps back, using her sword to block the axe as she did. Her feet meet the ground and slides back against it. The bandit lets out a loud yell as he charges at her again, holding his axe overhead and prepared to swing it down. Yells were heard for her to watch out, but she didn’t worry. She runs forward and meets with the bandit leader faster than he could meet her. He is startled at her unexpected appearance and tries to swing his axe down quickly, but she quickly swings her sword up to knock it away from her trajectory and raises her knee to gut him. He lets out a choked groan and she delivers another kick, digging her heeled boot into his stomach and pushes him back to the ground. She watches how he falls backgrounds, his head hitting the ground as spit is coughed out. He doesn’t move and she assumes him to be incapacitated.

She waits a moment to be sure and when he showed no sign of moving, she relaxes her shoulders. She turns around to see the three in awe of her performance. She felt their eyes uncomfortable and approaches them. “See if there’s any stragglers just in case,” she decides to tell them. “One person on each of this direction, if you need help, don’t be afraid to call for it.” The two boys nod at her command, Claude giving a two-finger salute as he proceeds to scan the area. Sarina turns towards the white-haired girl. “I’m going to check the area we just came from, look over here for now and cover me.”

“Understood,” the white-haired girl said and looked back to the incapacitated bandit.

Sarina thought she would do fine by herself as she proceeded to walk off, but that was her mistake.

The bandit leader recovered quickly than Sarina originally thought he would and swung his legs up in the air and jump himself up into a standing position. The first thing he laid his eyes on was the girl and without a moment’s hesitation, he lets out a yell and charges for her. The girl is shocked at his quick recovery, but quickly arms herself with a dagger that she had behind her back. Sarina looked back the moment she heard the yell. She runs as fast as her feet could take her, immediately pushing the girl out of the way of the axe’s trajectory. She lets out a cry of pain as she feels the swing of the axe cut across her back.

As it does, something resemblance a heartbeat is heard. Everything suddenly goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hair accessory that I mention is what I call a hair clamp, and this is something I also personally use in real life. Mine has a flowery like design to it and so I'm using what I use as a reference into the story. Hair clips tend to have a variety of sizes, but they're typically slimmer and thin and wouldn't hold up a lot of hair in place where as a hair clamp/jaw would, which is why I call it a hair clamp and not a hairclip, despite both having the same function. 
> 
> This was just a little note that I wanted to pop in.


	7. An Eventful Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sothis turns back the hands of time, allowing Sarina to save the girl's life. When she thought that was the end, she finds herself and her father encountering the Knights of Seiros as well, and begins to see there was more to her father than she initially thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action scenes are hard. That's really all I got. Thanks again for the support of my self-indulgence.

Was this how her life ended…? Everything was dark but silent. She didn’t hear any yelling or anyone’s cries. She shut her eyes tightly, leaving herself in the dark. She expected to feel pain, but she didn’t. She was sure she did a moment ago, but now all there was a dull feeling in her back. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was met with nothing but darkness. She blinked and turned around, seeing she was by herself. The bandits, the three teenagers, her mercenary colleagues—none were to be seen in sight of this endless darkness.

As she attempted to figure out where she was, she was suddenly met with a reprimanding scream. “What were you thinking?!” She turns quickly in the direction of the voice, and suddenly in a flash of light, the pointed eared girl suddenly appeared before her, sitting in her throne. “What were you thinking pulling a stunt like that?!” she yelled at her, an angry look upon her face. “It’s like you’re trying to get me killed, you fool!”

Sarina’s mouth dropped slightly open, trying to find words to say but couldn’t. She felt like a child being scolded. But… the girl looked like a child. She felt conflicted as she withdrew within herself.

An exasperated sight left the pointed ear girl’s lips, quickly calming down as she rests her cheek on her hand now. “Well, it’s fine,” she states suddenly. “After all, if you don’t know the value of your own life you’re not going to protect it very well are you? Course not.” She slowly stands from her throne. “Well then, I guess it’s time for me to guide you from now on, right?” she smiles down at her, Sarina blinking at her and staring at her with wide eyes. She was unsure what she meant by that. “You can call me Sothis… but I’m also known as “the beginning”,” she formally introduced herself, a proud smile on her but then she soon began to ponder. “But who once called me that… I believe this is my name. Yes, it is.”

Sarina could only stare. “Did you not know your name?” she asked.

The pointed eared girl, Sothis, shook her head lightly. “I couldn’t recall it until just now,” she answered. She squints at Sarina who gives a face of disbelief and her eyebrows knit together as she huffs. “That look on your face. Did you think of me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?!” Sarina didn’t respond, but she felt a sweat roll down at the back of her neck. She neither confirmed nor denied the claim. “Phooey! That “child” just saved your life! And what does that make you?”

A moment of silence passes. “Less… than a child?” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Correct! You understand,” Sothis says, seeming appease by her answer. Sarina wasn’t sure what to make of that statement.

“You threw yourself before an axe to save just one young girl. Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened,” Sothis explained to her as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Isn’t there something you should say, hm?”

Sarina blinked before remembering what had just happened moments before. She pushed the girl out of the way and then the axe came swinging down, slashing across the back. She couldn’t help but feel a shiver go through her body. She grabbed her arm for a moment, momentarily feeling the pain just before she found herself here. She looked up at Sothis, trying to find a shred of lie in it, but it seemed that she spoke the truth. Although she could not discern whether this was the truth or not, she realized she should express her gratitude. She holds her sword behind her as she placed her hand across her chest. “Thank you…” she said in a soft voice, giving a polite and respectful bow to her, something she does not do often. It was an awkward and clumsy bow, nearly tripping over herself.

The action nonetheless brings a smile to Sothis’s face. “There now. Was that so hard?” she asked rhetorically. “I did deem you worth saving, after all.” She lets out a small sigh. “Though it is only momentary, time has stopped.” She lets out a hum as she questioned out loud. “How did I manage that…”

Sarina felt discomfort in hearing her question her own abilities. She had assumed she knew what she was doing. She feels her throat dry as she asked her. “What happens when time resumes…?”

“Hm? Well once time begins again, the axe will tear into your flesh, and you will surely meet your end. How rude of you to drag me into this!” Sothis suddenly reprimands her again. She gives another sigh as she begins to think again. “Now what to do…”

A sigh leaves Sarina’s lips. They had to think fast. She didn’t know how long time could be stopped after all. She pressed her lips together as she thought alongside Sothis on what to do. It then occurred to her. “Can you… turn back time then?” she asked.

Sothis blinks before a moment of realization hits her. “Of course!” she exclaims. “I must turn back the hands of time!” She nods her head and feels satisfied with that answer. “Yes, I do believe it can be done. You really are quite troublesome. While I cannot rewind time too far, it should be enough to save your life. You are aware of what’s to come now, so you should be able to protect yourself and that girl this time.” She gestures her hand forward as suddenly an image of a glowing crest appears before her. “Now go…” She looks down to Sarina, meeting her eyes with her own and locked into a gaze. “You, who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers you seek.”

Sarina had many more questions to asked, however, her life, and the girl’s life, was at risk. She nods and prepares for time to be rewind. A vortex occurs and it appears to engulf them both. Through the vortex, images of the past few moments that had happened appears and being viewed in reverse. It stops as the bandit leader recovered and jumped back to his feet. When time had rewound, Sarina immediately turned back to the girl and immediately made her way to her. The bandit leader was yelling and charging towards the white-haired girl much like before, except this time, Sarina stood firmly in front of her, her sword raised as she expected the attack.

The bandit leader continues to charge as he jumps up and swings his axe down. “You’ll die!” However, Sarina swings her sword up and quickly disarms the bandit of his weapon. The axe is sent flying overhead as well as the bandit leader who falls back into the ground. When the threat was confirmed to be eliminated, Sarina lets out a huff of breath, her chest heaving out slightly as she did. She quickly turns back to the girl behind her and looks her over. The white-haired girl looked at her in surprise, startled by the intense stare she gave. When Sarina determined she was safe and unharmed, she relaxed once more before asking her, “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I am. Thank you,” the girl says to her. Sarina was quietly relieved. Although she didn’t show it, she was in disbelief that she really had turned back time—or rather Sothis did. Before she could respond, both of them turned towards a calling voice.

“Hey—over here!” Approaching them was Claude and Dimitri, both coming back when they heard yelling. Dimitri looks the two girls over to see if any harm had befallen them but seemed relieved that they were safe.

Sarina proceeds to sheathe her sword and hears the sound of someone on horseback approaching. She looks back and sees Jeralt. “Dad,” she calls out, raising her hand halfway into the air to flag him down.

“Dad?” the three repeated after her as if shocked to hear such a thing.

Sarina didn’t understand why but didn’t dwell on it, seeming more interested in seeing her father. “Hey…” he greeted but gave a serious look to her, his eyebrows furrowing together. She blinked and tilted her head slightly up at him. “Did you just—” before he could finish that question, he was interrupted by a loud and booming voice. He seemed to immediately recognized the voice as he didn’t try to hide his loud sigh and displeased look.

“The knights of Serios are here!” Sarina heard the loud booming voice said. They kept talking, but she quickly stopped paying attention, but her head perked up when she heard her father speak again.

“Ugh,” he complained and rubbed his head. “Come on, let’s go before we—”

“Ah, who’s this? Captain Jeralt? Is that you?” The two and the other three turned towards the owner of the voice. It was an older man clad in bright white armor and slicked back brown hair with a parted goatee.

“Ugh… why him?” She heard her father groaned.

“Dad?” Sarina looked up to him, confused at the situation they’re in right now. She didn’t know what to do. Jeralt looked around for a moment, back at the sudden appearance of the man, the three teenagers that stood behind her, and then his daughter. He reached down and gently placed his hand on her head.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” He says to her and she nods in response. He retracts his hand as he watched the knight approach him.

As the knight approached him, a wide smile graced his lips, followed up by a boisterous laugh. “As I live and breathe! It is you!” He exclaimed and threw his arms open as if expecting a hug, but he was quickly rebuffed.

“Alois,” Jeralt greeted quickly. “You haven’t changed one bit, still as loud as ever,” he stated. “And drop that ‘captain’ nonsense, I’m not your captain anymore. I’m just a wandering mercenary—one that has work to do. Good-bye old friend.” He gave a light kick to his horse and signaled it to turn around to snuff him away.

The man, Alois, was quick to look dejected as he momentarily accepted the goodbye. “Right… Goodbye Captain.” After a moment, he realized he was almost bamboozled. “Wait, this isn’t how it ends! I insist that you return to the monastery with me!” he yelled as he soon followed after Jeralt who continued to trot away, seemingly hoping if he ignored him long enough that he would give up and go away.

Of the fewest emotions that Sarina felt, she felt kind of sorry for the knight who chased after her father. It wasn’t long until the knight turned his attention to her, and she stiffen slightly. 

“You,” Alois soon addressed. “Are you the captain’s kid?”

Sarina glanced towards Jeralt who mouthed her something, but she couldn’t quite discern the words he was saying from his lips. She looked back to Alois, giving him a blank stare. “I’m a bandit,” she blurted out. She panicked. Jeralt quietly slapped his hand into his face while Alois gave a laugh at her response.

He walks around her and wraps an arm around her shoulder, towering over the girl and pats her back roughly. “Captain, this girl has a great sense of humor! Surely she is cut from the same cloth as you?” he asked before giving another rough pat on her back.

Sarina felt slight pain from each pat, or slap? She couldn’t decide which one it was. She turned towards her father now, the look in her eye pleading for help. Jeralt just sighs. “Alois…” he attempts to redirect his attention to himself now.

“What’s troubling you, Captain? You’re not thinking about running away again are you?” Alois asked him before removing his arm around the girl’s shoulder, bringing a quiet sigh of relief from the action. He crosses his arms in front of his chest, a frown finally coming upon his face.

“Of course not,” Jeralt says, slightly turning his gaze away while his words were coated in half sarcasm. He cleared his throat. “Listen, why don’t we talk over here, alright?” He looked over to his daughter. “Sarina, why don’t you check up on those kids?” he suggested.

Sarina didn’t think twice on that option as she immediately stalked off. Jeralt wasn’t pleased at how quickly she walked off. While she walked off, Jeralt directed towards another area for him and Alois to speak in private. The young woman couldn’t help but glance back to watch them leave before hearing a sudden, but familiar, voice speak. “ _The knights of Seiros… They do seem rather skilled._ ” She turned her head side to side, looking for the source of the voice. However, she soon heard someone attempting to garner her own attention. She looked back ahead to see the tan skinned boy, Claude, she believed his name was, waving her down with his bow. As they didn’t know her name, she could clearly hear the pronoun of ‘you’ and the fact he was pointing at her and doing everything he could to get her attention. She blinks as the voice speaks again, “ _Ah. It seems like your presence is required. Get going.”_ The voice urged her on and she felt an immense headache coming. Not from the voice but from the entire ordeal that was happening.

Sarina wondered if this night will ever end now.


	8. A Rough Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina takes the time to speak with the three children she saved, however, she finds herself in a confusing and complex situation as she speaks with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to write in character... is hard.

Sarina walked over to the three children—teens—that they had saved earlier, finally calming down the tan skinned boy, Claude, she remembered his name again, who was trying to get her attention this entire time. While she walked over in their direction, she could hear the blond-haired boy, Dimitri if she recalled, reprimand him. “I think she got the call, Claude. There’s no need to continue to get her attention in such a manner.”

“Hey, I just want to be sure she heard us loud and clear,” Claude justified his reason.

“I’m sure her and all of Fodlan could hear you,” The white-haired girl said with a sigh, shaking her head in disapproval to him.

Sarina stood in front of them and tilted her head slightly. “Did you need something?” she asked.

“Ah yes, we wanted to show our gratitude to you, um…” Dimitri paused and looked flustered. Sarina didn’t understand why but then picked up she never introduced herself.

“Sarina.” She said to them.

“Pardon?” Dimitri stated.

“Ahh, that’s your name? Lovely to the lips,” Claude said with a wink.

“You’re starting to act like Sylvain,” the white-haired girl stated with a shake of her head. She cleared her throat.

Dimitri’s cheeks seemed to flush just slightly realizing Sarina was introducing herself to them. He cleared his throat quickly, changing the conversation as he held his hand out and gestured towards her shoulder. “How is your wound? Should you not get it checked?”

The young woman blinked and took a moment to remember what he was talking about and recalled she did take an arrow to the shoulder. She pressed her lips into a thin line as she glanced over her shoulder. She simply pulled her coat closer to her as she stated flatly, “I’m fine. It’s just a minor wound.”

“I… see,” he said in response, unsure what else to say.

The white-haired girl cleared her throat. “None the less, I also wish to show my gratitude. Your skill was beyond question and it is clear that you’re an experienced warrior—or rather mercenary I should say. And your father is Jeralt? The Blade Breaker? Former captain of the Knights of Seiros and often praised to be one of the strongest knights to ever live. It was shocking for us to know that you are his daughter,” she admitted.

Sarina could only blink in surprise. She suddenly recalled that the knight, Alois, had repeatedly called her father Captain. She shifted her gaze momentarily to the ground. “I… didn’t know he was a captain,” she admitted in a quiet voice.

The girl seemed surprised herself but responded in a calm and cool manner. “How curious. I’d wadger the explanation for that is fascinating.”

“Hey!” The tan skinned boy suddenly chimed in. Claude, if she recalled his name was. It was just then she realized she knew the two boys’ names but not the girl’s. “You are coming with us to the monastery, right?” he asked. Sarina opened her mouth to speak but he quickly cut her off, “Of course you are. I’d love to bend your ear as we travel! Oh, did I mention that the three of us are also students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery?” he asked her. She tried to speak again but was quickly cut off once more. “We were doing some training exercises when those bandits attacked and, let me tell you, I definitely got the worst of it.” He didn’t miss a beat, she noted.

The girl was quick to respond to him however as she stated in an annoyed tone. “That would be because you ran off.”

Sarina turned towards Claude who openly admitted his cowardice—or so she thought when he said, “Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat!” He grinned widely, as if proud of his choice that he made before sighing and raising his arms up as he turned his face to the side. “Everything would have worked if you two haven’t followed me and ruined everything.” He turned towards Sarina, as if trying to vouch his innocence. “Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us. Utterly ridiculous.”

Her attention soon shifted towards to Dimitri who stated casually, “Ah, so that’s what you were thinking, Claude. And here I thought you were acting as a decoy for the sake of us all.”

The girl’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “His intentions were clear as day Dimitri.” She shook her head in further disbelief at Dimitri’s naivete. “You will prove to be a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person’s words.”

Dimitri seemed to take slight offense as he stated, “Hm, you will prove a lacking ruler yourself if you look for deceit behind every word and fail to trust those whom you rely on.” Immediately, Sarina could feel tension between the two, even if it was slight. She wasn’t sure if a fight would break out. That’s what children do when they get mad at each other, right?

Claude quickly interjected as he positioned himself between the two, carefully pushing the two apart from each other and placed in distance. “Now, now let’s not fight in front of our hero and savior here. Though, I do wonder how being completely predictable affects one’s ability to wield power. Personally, as the embodiment of distrust,” something he says proudly, “I’d say your little exchange smacks of naivete.”

“Excuse me? Are you telling me that you are actually incapable of keeping talking, or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?” The girl soon stated in full offense, as if ready to draw her earlier dagger to aim at the other’s heart. Claude quickly readied his hands as he raised them up in surrender.

“Now let’s not get hasty Edelgard,” he said quickly.

Dimitri looked over to Sarina, who was both amused and concerned at what was unfolding before her. He cleared his throat and decided to focus their conversation at hand. “In any case, forgive our digression.” He stepped forward to Sarina, standing in front of her and towering her. He was much taller than she realized as she had to tilt her head back a bit to look up to him. “I must speak with you, if you can spare a moment.” She blinked and slowly nodded her head, and he seemed to give a smile in response to that. “The way you held your ground against the bandits’ leader was captivating!” he suddenly praised. Her mouth dropped open slightly, unexpecting such praise to be said. He had continued with his praise, “You never lost control of the situation and you made me realized I still have much to learn.”

“I… see.” Sarina stated slowly as she rubbed the back of her neck. This was all too overwhelming, but she kept calm.

The white-haired girl, Edelgard, noticed the lack of presence of Sarina and Dimitri. She looked over to see the two conversing and stepped away from Claude as she interjected herself into the conversation. “Your skills as a mercenary were extraordinary,” she suddenly complimented. “I must ask you to consider to lend your services to the Empire, and while on the subject, I should tell you that I am also—”

“Halt Edelgard.” It was Dimitri’s turn to interject. “Please allow me to finish my own proposition to her. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals, so I believe it is only fair if I ask first since I did initiate the conversation.”

Sarina could feel her head spinning as they each talked in disregard of her presence. She hung her head in defeat, confusion, overwhelmed, and a pure desire to run away. She had no idea what was happening and she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt the conversation at hand, however, Claude stepped in, seeming to sense her distress as he loudly exclaimed, “Whoa, there! You two are hasty. Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable?” He gestured to Sarina who sheepishly looked between the three, saying not a word.

A moment of silence passed, but a sincere apologetic looked appeared on both of their faces. “I must apologize, this must be all so sudden,” Dimitri said to her, his voice becoming soft and gentle. “Please excuse my enthusiasm.”

“Mine as well,” Edelgard followed suit.

“No, it’s fine, I just… I’m not quite familiar with everything you are both are saying,” Sarina admitted as she lowered her head, her eyes falling to the ground. Her eyes remained without emotion.

“Ah, I see. You mentioned you were unfamiliar with even the mention of the Knights of Seiros? Is it possible you are also unfamiliar with its faith that they follow?” Dimitri questioned as he watched her.

Sarina tried her best to recall of such faith and shook her head. “I have no knowledge of such,” she admitted. “Dad—” she cleared her throat. “My father,” she corrected respectfully, “didn’t teach me or tell me such things.”

Edelgard watched her carefully, a look of interest across her face. “How interesting,” she said quietly as she brought her hand up to her face.

Claude clapped his hands together as if to try to dispel the sudden, uneasy tensioni n the air. “Well, nonetheless. It’s a bit untactful to try to recruit someone you just met anyways. I _was_ personally planning to develop a deep and lasting friendship with you when we went back to the monastery. But alas, I guess since these two decided to jump the bandwagon, I think I should just get straight to the point.”

Sarina tilted her head slightly, confused at what Claude means.

“Do you have any particular allegiance to any place?” Claude asked.

Sarina gave a blank stare. “… No offense, but as you have ‘tactfully’ said, this is a little overwhelming and not much for me to really have a firm position on.” She shook her head lightly. “I really don’t know much of anything let alone give you a straight answer,” she said rather bluntly as she crossed her arms in front of her ample chest. She sighed softly and decided to take off her hair clamp. As she did, her hair immediately fall out of its messy bun, dropping past her shoulders and down her back. The three in front of her slightly widened their eyes as she aired her hair out with her hand before grabbing some of it to pull back, clipping it back and placing it in a simple half up hairstyle. She noticed Dimitri looking away with a slight flushed face, Edelgard looking the other way with a similar expression, while Claude looked at her with such keen interest. She didn’t understand the reason for any of these reactions. She cleared her throat to grab their attention. “While this is all interesting… I think the person you should each be talking to is my father. I’m a simple mercenary in this group,” she admitted before letting out a breath, as if tired of talking. This was the most she had ever spoken if she thought about it and it was just… tiring.

Roughly clearing his throat, Dimitri composes himself. “Yes, please, let me apologize again for our rudeness,” he stated to her.

Before she could say something in response, two people began to approach them. It was Alois and Jeralt “Alright you three, I hope you haven’t bothering her too much. It’s time to head back to the monastery.” Alois approached the four with his hand on his hip, patiently waiting for them. Jeralt walked past him and towards his daughter.

Sarina blinked as she looked up her father and as he walked up to her, she felt the shine of the moonlight suddenly basking them. She looked up to the sky and her eyes gazed upon the full moon. As if mesmerized, she became lost in its beauty. Jeralt immediately noticed this and brought his hand on her head, grabbing her attention again. “It’s rather late in the night don’t you think?” he asked as he turned towards Alois and the three students. “If I recall, one of you mentioned you had a camp around here. It’s been a long night. You guys should rest and then make your return to the monastery.”

Alois brought his hand up to his chin as he thought about this for a moment. “Hm, yes, you three must be tired after all from this ordeal,” he stated as he looked them over.

“We’re fine, we are capable of making the trek back to the monastery,” Edelgard stated.

“Ha, speak for yourselves. I don’t know about you, but I could use a little nap,” Claude stated as he stretched his arms upwards and the sounds of him popping his joints could be heard.

Dimitri took a moment to consider the situation before saying, “I think it would be best to rest for the night. After all, it would do us no good to be travel while we are at lowest.”

“Great, then it’s settled. You all return to your camp, and Sarina and I will accompany you all to the monastery first thing at dawn,” Jeralt stated to them.

Sarina blinked as she turned her head towards her father, as did the three nobles, who seemed eager to know that they would be returning to the monastery with them in tow, perhaps at the prospect that they could potentially recruit the young woman mercenary to their ranks. She said nothing and stayed quiet, deciding to question his decision later. For now, she just had an urge to just… run.

Alois let out his usual strong laugh. “I’m glad to hear that, Captain Jeralt! We will be looking forward to the trip back! Now come along you three, I’m sure your companions are worried about you three.”

“Then until we meet again,” Dimitri gave a gentlemanly bow to Sarina before following Alois. Claude gave a wink and a two-finger salute to her.

“I hope you consider what we have told you overnight,” Edelgard said to her before following suit.

Sarina watched them go and once she was sure they were out of earshot and considerably out of sight, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She felt a hand back on her head and glanced up to Jeralt. “Sorry about that kid.” She just shook her head lightly to assure him. She felt the shine of the moonlight hitting her again and he realized she wanted to go. He gave a slightly and gently pushed her along. “Go along now, you know where to find me.”

The young woman mercenary nodded her head. She soon walked off, which turned into fast walking and then a light jog. Jeralt watched her carefully as she disappeared off towards the forest, but he realized he had to be on extra watch as the others had camp in another part of the forest as well. He sighed quietly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He turned into the direction of where the Garreg Mach Monastery would be. “After all these years, I never thought we would be drag back to you…” he said out loud.

As the nobles headed back towards their camp, escorted by the Knights of Seiros, in the distance, a wolf's howl could be heard…


	9. What's to Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimitri tries to calm his racing thoughts and is met with an unexpected sight. Sarina had worries that she never encountered before and wants to know what is to come, being only reassured by her father and the girl's voice that speaks in her head.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗  
At the camp

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

“We were so worried about you, your highness!” A young girl with bright orange hair yelled at Dimitri, who could only give a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“I apologize if I caused any of you distress,” he could only say. It seems like all he was good for all night was apologies. He can only recall how many he had already given out, especially to that woman. Although he was truly mesmerized by her strength, he was also unnerved by the fact by how she was unaffected by the lives she had taken. Was it because she had been raised as a mercenary? But even most mercenaries that he had encountered in his life seemed to have some shred of conscience. Something about her demeanor was different. He shook his head lightly to push the thoughts aside, and it was further pushed away when he heard a familiar male voice.

“Honestly, everyone was getting all worried about you your highness. You really should’ve given us a heads-up.” It was a tall, orange-haired boy who seemed to bore an everlasting smile on his face, one that held mischief.

Dimitri gives a smile. “Yes, I believe everyone has made it clear tonight Sylvain,” he responded. “As you can see though, Edelgard, Claude, and I were fine. We were just caught off-guard.”

“That will not do, your highness,” a smooth, slightly gruff male is said by a tall man with white hair and tanned skin. that is tied back into a small ponytail. “You must remember that you are an important individual and you should be more careful in the future.”

“Dedue please, we were capable of defending ourselves—with a little bit of help.”

“That’s shocking,” a gruff and rude voice said from afar. Hanging at the campfire, crouched and poking at the wood to keep the fire burning was another boy with violet purple hair, tied up into a bun a messy bun and the strands of his hair falling off from the side of his face. “Coming from you, boar,” he insulted, but Dimitri doesn’t respond to the insult, as if it was a common thing.

“Come on Felix, you have to have been at least a little worry for his highness,” Sylvain asked, trying to ease up the tension in the air. It could be cut cleanly with a knife.

The boy, Felix, just scoffs as he looks away before standing up onto his feet. “I’m going to sleep,” he says in a curt manner and retreats to his tent.

“That’s a good idea—your highness you should get some rest too,” the orange girl from before states to Dimitri.

“I think I’ll stay up a bit longer. Allow me to take first watch,” Dimitri insisted. Before he receives a response from anyone, he already begins to walk towards the fire and sits by it, making himself comfortable on a log that seemed to have been set up as a makeshift bench. Sylvain could only shrug towards the shorter girl as he quietly encourages her to retreat to her tent and he would do the same.

“Your highness, please, let me take first watch you need your rest,” the young man, Dedue implored him.

“Please, I don’t need to be coddled. This will help me relax a bit. I can’t sleep anyways. I will let you take the next watch if that will suffice Dedue,” Dimitri attempts to compromise with the man.

“Don’t be staying up too long then,” Sylvain says to him with a smile before finally leaving.

Dedue lets out a sigh before giving a polite half bow, his fist pressed against his chest. “If you insist then. Goodnight your highness.”

“Goodnight everyone,” Dimitri bids as he watches Dedue leave. He gives a kind smile as he watched, but as soon as he is left alone, the smile gradually fades as he stares into the burning embers. He leans forward, clasping his hands together. His eyebrows knit together, as if he becomes bothered by intrusive thoughts. He momentarily closes his eyes, not out of tiredness, but as if to concentrate. This goes on for some time. What was seconds had become minutes, and the sound of the wood crackling in the fire seemed to intensify. He lets out a sigh and realized he was a bit restless by just sitting. He slowly stood up and looked back. Not far from his camp would be Edelgard’s and Claude’s, and on standby would be the knights of Seiros. He decided to just trek off for just a moment or two, hoping the short walk will calm his mind. He would’ve preferred to pick up his lance and do training, but he didn’t want to attract possible lurking bandits, or disturb everyone else from their rest.

He took the open trail, hearing the crickets chirp in the silence with the sounds of the leaves shuffling as the wind blew in the air in the night. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he glanced up, being met with the starry night and the full moon. He noted it was a beautiful scene to take in, serene almost. He stopped walking and decided to simply bask in its light for just a few moments. In those few moments of silence, it felt like peace to him from whatever was intruding on his mind. However, it was short when he heard the sound of rustling. His body stiffen and he immediately took on a defensive stance. He didn’t have his weapon on him, so he was prepared to fight with his fists if needed. He glanced around, seeing nothing but darkened greenery and trees, but just off the trail and in the distance was something shining. His pale-blue eyes widened slightly as he gazed upon the sight.

Meeting back his gaze was a pair of aquamarine eyes that had golden rings around the pupils. What he saw staring back at him was a wolf, one that was neither too large nor too small, possessing silvery wolf fur that shone and almost glimmer in the moonlight. Wolves around Garreg Mach Monastery was rare. If this had been Fhirdiad, it would’ve been a different story. This was far from being the first wolf he has ever seen, but he could not be sure if this wolf was a threat to everyone. And yet, he felt no imminent danger at all—in fact, this was one of fewest times he felt mesmerized.

Dimitri attempted to take a step forward, but as he did, the wolf turned around and ran off. He took another step forward, attempting to follow after, however, he heard a voice behind him. “Your highness?” he looked back and he was met with a concerned look from Dedue. “I did not see you at the camp fire so I got worried.”

He shook his head lightly. “No it’s nothing. I thought I saw something is all…” he explained before walking towards his vassal, going past him and towards back the camp. “I think I will retire for the night now.”

“Understood.” Dedue said as he bowed his head and followed his highness back to the camp, focused in taking the next shift for the night.

Dimitri decided to keep what he saw tonight to himself, unsure if what he saw was real or not.

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“ _My, so you are capable of such things,”_ the voice in her head said before letting out a yawn. The yawn seemed to be contagious as Sarina nearly let out a yawn herself. Her hair was slightly frazzled from the run and she shook off the leaves that seemed to have been caught on her. She had smooth, porcelain-like skin that seemed to compliment her aquamarine doll-like eyes. It would have been flawless, if not littered with past and healed over scars, undoubtedly received in her years of being a mercenary. However, the arrow wound on her shoulder was nowhere to be found. Even if it had been minor, it had healed quickly than the human body was possibly capable of without healing magic.

Her body was thrown into shivers as the cold air hit against her skin and she wrapped her arms around her naked body. When she looked up, everything quickly went dark when something was suddenly thrown over her head. She remained calm nonetheless, as she carefully pulled it down from her face and realized it was a fur cloak. When she looked in the direction from where it was thrown, she was met with the gaze of her father, who seemed to have been patiently waiting for her and he had held a satchel in his hand, offering to her. She carefully wrapped the fur cloak around herself, covering up as she walked towards him, feeling her bare feet against the ground and stepping over the small twigs and leaves that laid along the ground. She took the satchel from him and went for a large tree to step behind in, the satchel containing her clothes to wear.

“Did you get a nice run tonight?” Jeralt asked her as he patiently waited for his daughter to get dressed.

She nodded her head, however, she forgotten he couldn’t see her as she went to get dressed. “Yeah,” she said out loud. Although it was brief, the run allowed her to clear her head from tonight’s events. So much has happened in so little time that she did not have the time to really think and reflect about how she felt. She wondered if she should talk to her father about this girl Sothis, but at the same time, she wondered if he would think of her as crazy. She decided to keep that information to herself for now.

“I know a lot has happened tonight,” Jeralt began to say, interrupting her thoughts. “But I promise I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

Sarina stayed quiet, listening to his words as she smoothed her hair out. She pulled up the stockings over her hip before slipping into a pair of black shorts. She tightened the brassiere around her chest before throwing her black shirt on and fastening a white collar around her neck. She decided to keep the brooch necklace in her bag for now with her cloak. She stepped behind from the tree, pulling her hair over her shoulder, stepping towards her father. “Will we be okay?” she finally asked him. Although she showed a flat expression on her face, her father could tell how she felt just by her eyes. He takes a step forward to meet her almost halfway and gently placed his hand on her head. She closes her eyes at the feeling and leans into his touch.

He rubs her head as he assured her, “We’ll be fine kid… I promise.” He closes his eyes as he remembers the vow that he made to her so many years ago. He feels her head dip down for a moment and back up. “Get some rest kid, it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Sarina silently agreed to the statement. The two went back to their own camp settlement. Jeralt had already described and debrief them of what would happen, and not surprisingly, most of them did not agree to follow to Garreg Mach Monastery. Most began their trek to the Kingdom in order to do the job they originally intended to do. However, there were still some who were loyal to Jeralt and stayed, following wherever he decided to go. She was unsure how her father felt about that, but every time she looked up to his face, there was always an expression of uneasiness that was rare to see. She hadn’t seen him look this distressed since they had saved the three students and when the Knights of Seiros appeared.

The young mercenary found herself staring up at the ceiling, blanket draped over her. “ _Will you not sleep?”_ Sothis asked her as she appeared before her suddenly, floating in the air beside her and resting her cheek in her hand.

Sarina glanced over to the girl and instead of feeling surprised or even shock, she felt a feeling of familiarity. As if Sothis has always been here and watching over her. And yet not only moments ago, this was only their first encounter and introduction to one another. She wondered if Sothis was just a dream quite honestly. In response to the mysterious girl’s question, she lightly shook her head. “Can’t sleep…” she quietly admitted.

Sothis hummed and soon placed her hand over her eyes. “ _You must rest to save your strength. I have a feeling tomorrow will take a lot out of you—not just physically_ ,” she said in a soft voice. Although it was a voice of a child, she spoke as if she was a grandmother.

That brought a strange comfort over Sarina as she closed her eyes when she felt her hand over her eyes.

“ _Now sleep, child. You will need it_ ,” Sothis urged her.

Slowly nodding her head, Sarina allowed the darkness and the warmth that seemed to radiate from Sothis lull her to the comfort of sleep.


	10. The Archbishop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina and her father goes to the monastery-- for Jeralt, the first time in twenty years, for Sarina, the first time in her life. When she meets the archbishop, nothing but uneasiness fills her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one in the world cannot change my mind that Jeralt is soft dad to daughter Byleth. Also I enjoy the headcanon that Jeralt had his personal mount that he had a genuine bond with.

It was early morning. Sarina naturally woke up at the break of dawn, although she still felt incredibly drowsy. She rubbed her eyes. As she pulled herself out of bed, her father walked into the room. “Oh you’re up. Get ready, we’re about to leave.”

Silence filled the room momentarily. “Already?” Sarina asked as she quickly tried to fix her terrible bed hair.

Jeralt could only let out a chuckle. He walked over and picked up her coat, offering it to her. She took it and slipped it on, straightening it out after slipping her arms through the open sleeves and pulling her hair out and over her shoulders. She prepared to fix her hair up again, but Jeralt stopped her as he picked up the hair clamp she normally wears. He gently smooths her hair out and gestured her to turn around. She did so, feeling her nerves calming down as she feels her father’s fingers run through her hair. “Don’t worry kid, they’re still packing up their stuff right now. We got time,” he assured her hair, grabbing some of her hair and pulling it towards the left side. He wasn’t necessarily good at this sort of thing, but he tried his best. He carefully clipped it back with the hair clamp and smoothed out some loose strands. “There we go.”

Sarina turned around towards him, brushing some of her bangs from her face as she looked up to him, her aquamarine eyes almost shimmering in the light of the sun. Jeralt slightly stiffen from the sight as he looked down to her, but his expression became soft as he brought his hand down on her head. “Damn when did you get so big already?” he suddenly said. She didn’t expect that and felt his hand pulled away. “I’ll be outside.” She watched him leave the room quickly after, leaving no room for her to respond back. She pressed her lips together in a firm line, wondering what was going through his mind. She proceeded to grab her sword and the accompanying belt, fastening it around her waist.

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It was almost the end of the month of the Great Tree Moon Sarina had noted quietly as their group walked along the trail in the green forest. Sarina held onto the reins of Rienne, walking alongside her while her father walked ahead, conversing with the Knights of Seiros, including Alois. It seemed like they were catching up as she saw Alois slapped his hand down on her father’s back. She only caught a glimpse of her father’s face, and she thinks he was cringing about something. A bad joke that was said perhaps? She looks in front of her. Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard. They were conversing with one another it seems, and she didn’t bother to pay attention to what they said, however, she studied them quietly.

Edelgard was someone who seemed refined, but there were moments from last night that she felt like she was being scrutinized—almost being judged. Or was evaluating the more correct term? Claude seemed like an easy-going boy; he smiled easily, and yet when she looked into his eyes, it didn’t quite match in the feeling they conveyed. In some ways, he seemed distant. And then there was Dimitri. He was sincere, and yet there was something lurking underneath. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Rienne let out a small whinny, bringing her out of her thoughts. She gently patted and stroke her mane. She wondered if her father fed her this morning. If not, she noted silently that she should feed her. Her thoughts were interrupted once more as she heard a voice talking to her. “This will be your first time at the monastery, correct?” she looked up to see who was talking and it was Dimitri. She quietly nods her head. His smile seems to have brighten as he offers, “I’d be happy to show you around then once we arrive.”

Claude lets out a teasing laugh as he nudges Dimitri playfully. “Really, trying to persuade her, are we?” he asked with an all-knowing grin.

“Not everyone is scheming like you are, Claude,” Edelgard reprimanded.

“I like to call it in trying to be tactful,” Claude argues. “But, it really is Fodlan in a nutshell around here. The good and the bad,” he stated.

“Like it or not, we’ll be there soon enough,” Edelgard notes as she looks ahead. “Speaking of which.”

Sarina soon looks ahead and the clearing of the forest begins to thin out. As soon as the trees were parting, she could see a large collection of buildings that are on top of a grand hill. She blinks once, her lips slightly parted. She couldn’t help but step past the three to get a better look despite her keen eyesight that she already possessed.

Claude looks amused while Dimitri was slightly startled by her apparent interest. Edelgard shared a similar amusement, but a piqued interest as she stated, “There it is. Garreg Mach Monastery.”

Sarina would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t mesmerized. She didn’t know why, but she felt drawn towards it, similarly how she always felt drawn to the full moon. Jeralt didn’t seem pleased as he looked back to his daughter, but the sparkle that she held in her eyes softened his uneasy heart. “Come on, don’t lag behind now.” He said in a loud voice.

Brought out of her brief daze, she nodded her head. She realized she had released Rienne’s reins, but the intelligent animal had soon caught up and stayed by her side. She took her reins again and guided her along the trail. For some reason she felt uncomfortable in walking and realized she had stepped past the three students. She fidgeted with her fingers quietly while the students caught up and took the lead again.

“So, you do get excited over such things, I would’ve never expected that,” Claude teased as he gives a light laugh.

Sarina just nods her head as Dimitri follows up, “It is a spectacle to behold.” 

“If one would want to call it that,” Edelgard muttered, almost with distaste.

Sarina pretended she didn’t hear what she said but noted how Edelgard regarded the location. She looked ahead and saw they still had a long walk ahead.

“Don’t worry, we will be there before you know it!” Alois assured as he looked behind them, giving a wide smile as he raised a fist in the air. “Isn’t that right men?” he laughed. Some people sighed, some smiled, others shook their head lightly. Sarina just stared ahead at the monastery. She placed her hand over her chest. She pressed her lips together as she did.

“Is something the matter?” She looked over to her side to see Dimitri.

She shook her head lightly. “Nothing. I’m just a little nervous,” she admitted.”

“Is that so?” Dimitri laughed lightly. “I didn’t think you did.”

She blinked.

“Ah, I’m sorry that was rude of me to say.”

“No, it’s alright. I get that a lot,” she admitted. She felt an unpleasant feeling at the bottom of her chest and continued walking before she could elaborate. Dimitri seemed to have noted her demeanor and held his tongue back.

* * *

The walk continued on and eventually they reached the entrance. Alois raised his hand as he called out loudly. “The Knights of Seiros has arrived!” he loudly announced, and the men stationed at the entrance were quickly alerted of their presence. The large wooden and steeled doors slowly pried open, letting out a creaking noise as it did. As soon as it was cracked open, the knights walked ahead past the entrance and into the monastery. Sarina soon found herself by her father’s side, Rienne standing on her side. She looked around curiously, keeping a calm and neutral expression, but her eyes showed curiosity. Jeralt still had a displeased look as he looked around once and let out a small sigh.

He suddenly stopped walking, causing Sarina to stopped as well with Rienne. “Dad?” she called out to him.

He stayed quiet as he stared upwards, his eyes trained on something—or someone. “Rhea’s here…”

She blinked and followed his hardened stare. Right above them was a balcony and over that balcony stood a tall woman, adorned in a white gown, a golden crown like headpiece on her head with flowers in her hair. She had long seafoam green hair and bright mint green eyes that stared down below her. Her eyes met with Jeralt’s but soon it turned to meet her own. Her aquamarine eyes stared back into her mint green ones. She felt… uneasy. Although the woman red-pink lips pressed together and was curved into a slight smile, there was a touch of coldness to it.

The woman’s facial expression was clear as day to Sarina. This was one of the fewest moments that she wished she wasn’t able to see so far. She opened her mouth to speak, however, Sarina could not discern in what she said, and yet she could tell… whatever she said, it was directed towards her.

Finally, she pulled her eyes away and looked to her father. Jeralt stared up at her for another moment before finally stepping forward. Soon enough, they were met with Alois. “I let someone know that you two will be going to meet with the Archbishop. There’ll be someone who will escort you both there. Don’t worry, I can take care of the captain’s fine horse if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said with a wide smile, oblivious to the real reason of their two’s discomfort.

Jeralt sighed as he said, “Great.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

Sarina turned her attention to Rienne. She was slightly reluctant to let a stranger handle her father’s horse. She stroked her mane but soon gave the reins to Alois. “Can you make sure she has something to eat? I think father forgot to feed her.”

“Haha, that sounds like what the Captain would do,” Alois said as he laughed loudly, taking the reins from Sarina.

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Jeralt said but threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly, knowing he was going to lose a losing battle either way. “Come on, we don’t want to keep her waiting.”

Sarina nodded and quickly caught up to her father while Alois walked in another direction with Rienne in tow, presumably to the stables they have. She hoped they have one.

Although they were told someone would escort them, Jeralt didn’t seem to waste any time. But what was even weirder for Sarina was the fact he seemed to know where exactly to go. She didn’t say anything though as she simply followed her father’s lead. She felt more questions form in her head. As they walked, they would pass by various of people, some who are knights, others who tended to the buildings, merchants, and most of all, students who wore an issued uniform. She saw people stopping to watch and stare. Jeralt seemed to ignore them, while she felt discomfort. Eventually, they reached the corridor where the stairs seemed to lie. He stopped momentarily, as if hesitating, before ascending upon them. She followed, being a step and a half behind him. Each step he took, she took as well as they ascended. It was a long stairway, longer than she expected, to reach the second floor. Alois told them they would be in the audience chamber with the Archbishop of the church, so she assumed it was on the second floor. She wondered if Archbishop was that woman they saw outside when they came in… Most likely, as she had yet to see anyone who was as dressed as she was as a member of the church.

Soon enough, they reached the second floor. Jeralt took a moment to stop, waiting for Sarina to take the last step and to rest for a moment after walking for so long. “Tired, kid?” he asked her as he placed his hand on his hip.

She looked up to him and lightly shook her head. Compared to what they’ve been through out in the field, ascending a long flight of stairs was nothing.

He seemed to smile at her durability. “Good. The audience chambers is just this way,” he stated as he walked towards a large set of doors. The guard in front of him looked wary. Before they could even question, Jeralt immediately informed them of their presence of reason. “We’re here to see the Archbishop. She’s expecting us.”

For a moment, the knight made a gesture through the visor of their helmet and seemed to realize who Jeralt was. “Yes, of course.” He stepped to the side and allowed them to pass. Jeralt gave a nod of acknowledgement to the knight and proceeded to push the doors open. Sarina followed closely behind.

Inside was an empty audience room, with light flowing inside from the stained-glass window that lied in the front. There was a room on the left side and just before the stained-glass window was a small podium. When Sarina looked around, she could see the many pillars that held the ceiling up and supported the structure of the room. She could tell it was well built. The infrastructure was intricately designed, and she could see the that although old, it was holding out strong. She wondered how long the monastery had been around.

She hears a sigh come from her father once more and turned her attention to him. She pressed her lips together and finally found the courage to speak to him. “Dad?” she asked. She tried to convey concern to him, but it felt like it was out of her capabilities.

Jeralt turned his head towards her. Although her expression remained neutral, he could see it in her eyes. He knew she had a lot of questions that he couldn’t seem to answer right now. “It’s been ears since I’ve last set eyes on this place,” he decided to start with as he shook his head lightly. “I didn’t think we would be forced to see her now.”

“Her…. You mean, that woman?” Sarina asked.

He nodded his head. “Yeah, she was in the courtyard… Her name is Rhea. Well, I guess you should be calling her Lady Rhea. She’s the Archbishop,” he explained to her and looked up to the stained-glass window. Upon closer inspection, it had a design of holy goddess that they worshipped. “I don’t think I ever told you this before but… I was a knight here. I used to work for her many years ago.” He gives a light laugh. “I never thought I would come back here.”

Sarina listened intently. She recalled Edelgard mentioning his former status as Captain and she sees that it was true, based on her father’s words. “Lady Rhea…” she repeated the name on her tongue. Something about the name made her uneasy, an she knew her father had the same uneasiness. “Can you tell me a little about her? Or at least…” she looked around. “This place. I never knew we were so close to here…” What she wanted to ask was why he didn’t tell her anything. She didn’t have the heart to do it.

Jeralt rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I believe I taught that majority of the folks in Fodlan are devout followers of the teachings of Seiros,” he answered. “But the leader of the ridiculously large organization is the archbishop—Lady Rhea.”

“I see… Dad—” Before Sarina was able to ask another question, the same doors that they went through opened. Their head turned towards who entered and it was the same woman who stood tall, adorned in her white gown with the golden headpiece placed on her head: Lady Rhea. Alongside her was a man with short, jaw-length dark green hair with a head circlet placed on his head. He wore a dark blue uniform, an attached cape behind his back and sleeves that covered his entire arms and the back of his hands, with dark blue heeled boots. Although a simple outfit, it accentuated a high status of position.

The two individuals walked towards the front and stood in front of them, Jeralt and Sarina turning to face them. The man in front of them spoke first, turning to her father to address him. “Thank you for your patience, Jeralt. My name is Seteth. I am an advisor to the archbishop,” he introduced himself to her. It seems like he wasn’t here when her father had been here.

“Right… Hello.” Jeralt greeted, albeit awkwardly, then he turned towards Rhea.

Rhea only gives a smile that seemed to be kind and gentle. “It has been a long time, Jeralt,” she said in a soft, almost motherly-like voice. “I wonder…. Was it the will of the goddess that we have another chance meeting like this?” she mused.

Jeralt gives a light laugh. “Forgive my silence all these years,” he responds as he gives a shrug of his shoulders. “Much has happened since we last spoke… almost 20 years ago, right?”

“So it has.” Rhea turned towards Sarina, her eyes meeting hers. Sarina stiffen slightly. “It seems like the miracle of fatherhood has blessed you. That is your child, is it not?” she asked him, looking at his daughter with interest.

“Yes, born years after I left this place,” Jeralt said, being quick to respond. A bit too quick, Sarina quietly noted. Was he in a rush? She wondered. He continued on, “I wish I could introduce you to the mother, but she… I’m afraid we lost her to illness.”

With the mention of her mother, her eyes turned towards the ground unexpectedly. This was the first mention of her mother in a long time. The last time she was mentioned, her father had turned towards the bottle shortly after. She didn’t know her mother at all, only through what little stories and mentions that were made from her father.

Rhea seemed to have misunderstood the reason of her averted gaze as she says in a soft, sympathetic voice. “I see… My condolences.” Although she gave her sympathies, Sarina couldn’t feel any from her for some reason. It was cold. “Tell me child,” she addressed Sarina. “What is your name? I heard of your valiant efforts from Alois.”

Sarina blinked and glanced to her father, as if asking permission to speak. He just gives her a nod of encouragement. She swallowed as she looked back to Rhea with uneasy eyes, something she may mistake as shyness. “My name is Sarina… Sarina Daciana Eisner,” she formally greeted, placing her hand over her chest and bowing at the waist, attempting to imitate what she saw before. She wondered if she was doing this right.

A wider smile seemed to grace Rhea’s lips, seeming pleased. “A fine name you have,” she complimented. “You have raised a fine child, Jeralt. She’s rather well-mannered.”

Jeralt almost snorts but suppresses it. “I did my best with her,” he admitted, full honesty in those words. Sarina raised back up, letting her arms fall to her sides. She looked up towards Seteth and feels his hardened gaze on her, as if scrutinizing her. She swallowed quietly before looking back to Rhea.

“I want to thank you for saving those students of the Officers Academy. It would’ve been a tragedy if we had lost them,” Rhea said to her, giving a bow of her head out of politeness and respect, and to show her gratitude. Jeralt gives a ‘hmph’ sound, while Sarina felt uncomfortable at the gesture. It was clear she was not used to such gratitude. “Jeralt, you already know what iti is I wish to say, do you not?” she asked him.

“You want me to rejoin the Knights of Seiros, don’t you,” Jeralt says, but he didn’t say it as a question, but rather as a statement. “I won’t say no—or rather, it’s not like I have a choice do I?” he said as he shook his head.

Rhea’s smile drops from her face, a look of hurt replacing it. “Your apprehension stings,” she admitted. “I had expected that Alois would have already asked this of you—”

“Oh, he did,” Jeralt said as he recalled, attempting to ease the tension.

“Lady Rhea,” Seteth spoke suddenly, with a voice of urgency.

Rhea sighed softly. “I must step away for now, but I expect they will desire a word with you soon.”

Sarina tilted her head slightly. “They?” she let slip.

Rhea looked back to her, giving her a kind smile. “Please listen carefully to what they have to say. Until tomorrow… Farewell.” With that, Seteth led the archbishop from the room, Jeralt’s and Sarina’s eyes following them.

Once she heard the sounds of the doors closing behind them, Jeralt lets out a sigh, showing his tiredness. It seemed to have age him by ten years. “I can’t believe it. Forced back into the Knights of Seiros.” He lightly shook his head before looking down to his daughter. He looks at her fondly and almost sadly. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Sarina shook her head lightly. “It… couldn’t be helped,” she said slowly, unsure on the choice of words to use. Her eyebrow knitted together a bit. “Who’s they?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Jeralt answered, believing it would be better for her to know who would be meeting her next.

Sarina lets out a huff of breath, something akin to that of a pout. Jeralt seemed amused as he pat her head. “It looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while.”

“Will you be returning as a captain again?” she asked him.

“They already have one. But I’m sure she’ll find something for me to do. Maybe train some newbies. But I won’t be the only one who won’t be doing nothing. She had requested for your services as well,” he explained to her suddenly.

Sarina blinked in surprised. “I… I’ll be working here?” she reiterated. “I don’t… understand,” she admitted as she fidgeted with her fingers, showing her uneasiness. “As a mercenary?” she asked as she thought about what she could possibly offer to the archbishop.

“If only,” Jeralt rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s nothing like that. They want you to teach.”

Silence filled the room between them. Sarina quietly cleared her throat. “I’m sorry?” 


	11. Becoming a Professor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina discovers she will be a professor and struggles to cope with the sudden new position. She is introduced to the other professors.

Sarina cleared her throat to break the silence. “I’m sorry?” she said to her father.

“I was as surprised as you are,” Jeralt admitted as he placed his hand on his hip. “Do you remember those brats talking about the Officers academy?” he asked. She nods her head slowly. “Well, conveniently, the academy is one short of a professor. Well, I would’ve said you could’ve filled in the position halfway,” he joked, playfully patting his hand on her back. Sarina lets out a huff. She wasn’t that short, she wanted to retort. “I didn’t think you would be teaching, but that damned Alois went and recommended you to Lady Rhea.”

Her mouth dropped open slightly. “Where did he even find the time to recommend me?” she asked, but she held her hand up. “I don’t want to know,” she quickly decided. This was all too much and she went back to fidgeting with her fingers again. “Dad… Is this a good idea?” she asked him. “Aren’t I a little young to be a teacher?” she asked him.

“I’m sure you will do fine,” Jeralt assured her. “But I have no idea what she’s thinking,” he admitted as he held his chin, thinking intently and has a look of wariness on his face.

Just as they fell into silence, the doors opened once more to allow entry to two more individuals. Sarina was beginning to get tired. She thought she hadn’t spoken so much before, but today was worse compared to last night. She looked back to see who had entered and walking up to her and her father was a woman and a tall middle-aged man. 

“Oh look what we have here,” the woman almost purred as she approached them. Her eyes went from Sarina to her father, eying him like a tiger about to pounce on their prey. Jeralt felt unnerved by her gaze. “So, you must be the new professor,” she assumed as she brought her finger to her chin, her ruby red lips curving into a sly smile. “My, how stern and handsome you are!”

Ah. Sarina understood the hidden intention in her voice. She suddenly felt sympathies for her father, but also silently thanked the goddess for him taking one for the team.

“Manuela, please,” the middle-aged man scolded her like she was a child.

Jeralt didn’t appreciate this but he smoothly responded, “Er, no. I’m not the one you’re looking for.” He casually placed his hand on his daughter’s head. “She’s the one you want. Welp, you can handle this from here, kid. Good luck.” Sarina’s mouth slightly dropped open, appalled her father passed that to her so quickly! However, before he turned to leave, he whispered in her ear, “Watch out for Lady Rhea. Stay on your guard.” Sarina blinked and didn’t have time to ask what he meant before he left, seeing him make a quick beeline for the door.

“Oh, what a shame,” Manuela commented as she watched Jeralt walked away before turning her attention to the young woman. Sarina swallowed but she was met with a smile from her. “You’re rather young though for a professor.”

“Competence and age are not necessarily correlated,” the middle-aged man interjected as he held his chin, looking at Sarina up and down. “Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Hanneman. I am a Crest scholar and professor at the Officer’s Academy.” He lets out a hum as he stepped closer, his face suddenly in front of hers. Sarina swallowed again, feeling her personal space being invaded. “I do wonder if you possess a Crest of your own, young lady.”

“Hanneman, please, can’t you see you’re making the poor girl uncomfortable?” Manuela reprimanded the man as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m Manuela. I may not seem like it, but I am a professor, a physician, a songstress… and available,” she winked at the young girl, her choice in people didn’t seem to be restricted to men. Sarina didn’t pick up the meaning until seconds later. She remained quiet for fear of the response she could get. “It’s nice to meet you,” she finished.

Silence ensued before Sarina realized she could speak again. “Oh.” She cleared her throat. “You’re a songstress?” Now that Sarina looked at Manuela, her choice of clothes indicated she was certainly fashionable, unlike her own. She thought her dress looked rather exquisite—and perhaps a tad bit revealing, maybe it was intentional—and the thick cloaked that was draped around her shoulders.

Manuela seemed pleased at the question as she let out a giggle. “Of course. Perhaps you have heard of me before. Before coming here, I used to sing for a renowned opera company: The Mittelfrank Opera. They called me their most beautiful, peerless, astonishing, and endowed—”

“Please spare our new professor of your chatter Manuela. We are here to help them settle into the Academy. Now, tell me, have you chosen the house you will be leading?” Hanneman asked Sarina.

Sarina furrowed her eyebrows together as she repeated, “Houses…?”

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t know,” Manuela asked her, and Sarina sheepishly nodded her head. “How odd. Well, allow us both to explain to you each House then of the Officers Academy. There are three Houses in total: the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer.”

“It seems that we will have a promising year with the chosen House leaders,” Hanneman commented. “We will have Edelgard, the Imperial princess who is in line to be the next emperor, as the Black Eagles house leader. This house has students who are from the Adrestian Empire.”

“And our highness, Prince Dimitri, is the house leader for the Blue Lions, which also houses students who are from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus,” Manuela further explained.

“And lastly, we have the Golden Deer House, who is led by Claude, the grandson to Duke Riegan and who is also the leader of the Alliance. As you can tell, these students are also from the Leicester Alliance.”

Sarina tried absorbed the information in such a short amount of time, however, she could feel the information begin to go over her head. However, she was at least familiar with the house leaders’ names. She was a bit surprised. To think those three students were such important people. Suddenly, memories of how she spoke with them flooded forward and she was beginning to feel regret of her actions. If she had known, perhaps she would’ve conducted herself better.

Manuela seemed to note her distress despite the neutral expression she had on her face. “Since you’re new here, why don’t you take the time to walk around the Academy?” she suggested to her. “I’m sure it will do you no good and listening to this old man and his chattering.”

“Excuse me, I believe I should be saying that about you,” Hanneman stated as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “However, I do agree. But, I would also like to ask if you could come by my research laboratory.”

Sarina tilted her head at the request. “Did I do something?” she asked.

“No, no not at all. I would like to ask you a question is all.” Hanneman explained to her.

“Hm… Okay.”

“Splendid!”

“Blah, blah. Anyways, let me just warn you, I already notified the house leaders that they will be getting a new professor. But I don’t think they know who you will be leading,” Manuela chuckled mischievously. Sarina almost gave a look that asked her why she would do such a thing. “It’s more fun that way,” the woman seemed to answer her question anyways. “Spend time with the students. Although we have some odd ducks here and there, I can assure you they’re all good kids. If you have any more questions, Hanneman and I, as well as Lady Rhea, can give it to you if you ask. Good luck.” She leaned forward. “You’ll need it,” she winked at her before walking off.

“My research office is just down the hallway on the right from the chambers. Stop by when you are free,” Hannemean reminded her before giving a polite bow and walking off as well.

Soon enough, Sarina found herself standing alone by herself in the Audience Chambers. She let out a sigh she didn’t realize she was holding. This was too much.

“ _My, my, it seems that you got your work cut off for you_ ,” Sothis suddenly spoke in her mind.

Sarina jumped up startled as she looked side to side.

“ _Are you that shocked to hear from me? You ought to know that I am always with you now. You should stop being coming so surprised to hear my voice._ ” Sothis seemed to reprimand and scold her lightly.

The young woman sighed. “It’s hard not to when you suddenly speak out of nowhere,” she said out loud. She was glad she was by herself.

“ _Well worry not, I am unknown to all but you. Through your eyes and ears, I can see and hear._ ” Sothis explained their situation together.

“So… I’m the only one who will see and hear you?” Sarina asked for clarification.

“ _Correct_ ,” Sothis confirmed for her. “ _As long as you listen to your heart, as you are now, we may speak like this. I’m afraid that is all I know, but I’m not sure why I know this… Strange._ ” She hummed in thought.

Sarina sighed softly before silence coveted the entire room now. “I guess that will be fine,” she finally spoke. “It’s not like… I dislike it,” she admitted softly as she placed her hands over her chest. She closed her eyes attempting to feel something inside. But alas nothing came. Silence filled the room again.

“ _I too, don’t dislike this_ ,” Sothis said in a soft voice. “ _Now go on, shouldn’t you go explore to become familiar with your new environment?_ ” she asked.

A sigh left the mercenary’s lips. “I don’t want to…” she muttered, only to be quickly scolded.


	12. A Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seteth gives a tour around the monastery to Sarina.

Sarina quietly left the audience chambers, closing the doors behind her. She decided to take up on the advice of what the other two professors suggested—explore the monastery. She also remembered what they mentioned before: she had to choose a house to teach. She pressed her lips together. She had barely discovered that she would be a professor here. Wasn’t there some kind of debriefing process they had to go through first? Or some kind of procedure she had to go through to attest her competence as a professor? She has never taught anyone before and so needless to say, she was nervous. She looked around, hoping to find her father, but he was nowhere to be in sight. She sighed as she began to walk towards the staircase that was just on the right and down the little corridor from the Audience Chambers.

“Ah, I’m glad to have caught you,” a voice spoke from behind her.

Startled by the sudden voice, she whipped around to see the owner of the voice and was met with the hardened gaze of the same man before. She tried hard to remember what his name was. Seth? Settie…. “Seteth?” she asked nervously.

“I’m glad to know you remember my name,” He said, and yet his words betray the hardened expression on his face. He didn’t seem glad. Or happy. Or anything positive for that matter.

Awkward silence filled the air between the two. Sarina was the first to speak. “Is… there something I can help you with?” she asked him nervously, her eyes watching him carefully.

“Ah, yes. This is your first time here at the monastery. So, I believed it would be proper to guide you to where you will be staying for now on.”

Her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. “Where I’ll be staying?” She repeated.

“Yes. We have already set up your quarters for you and this will serve your room for the rest of your time here,” he explained bluntly.

“I see…” Sarina said, deciding to accept the situation as is. If she tried to think about it, this was no different in how things ran with their group of mercenaries. Whatever her father said, she always went along with it. His words were final, but at least he had the courtesy to ask her of how she felt and thought about it, even if she had no opinions of her own. If she just went along with things for now, the easier it will get. Or she hoped. Then her father’s words rang in her head. She should try to be cautious as well. She cleared her throat. “I guess, um… lead the way?” she asked and realized her words may have been too rude.

Seteth was slightly taken aback at the informal manner of speech, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to it seems. He cleared his throat. “Very well, come this way.”

Seteth led her down the same staircase she was about to go down. It was easier going down than going up, although she tried to match her pace with Seteth, who seemed to in a rush almost—or rather like he didn’t want to be here with her. She could feel the animosity from him, and she would be lying if she said it wasn’t discomforting. Along the walk, she suddenly realized something. Were they aware about her… ‘condition’ that occurs every month? She looked up to Seteth, staring at his back. She swallowed quietly. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the conversation, but she decided the next time she spoke with her father, they could request a private audience with the archbishop and Seteth.

“Is something the matter, professor?”

She looked up and realized he was speaking to her with an unfamiliar title. “S-Sarina is just fine,” she insisted.

“Nonsense, it is only appropriate that I call you by your appropriate title, especially since you will be teaching the students here. They must see you as an authority figure,” he explained to her curtly.

“Then… can I call you Seteth?” she asked innocently.

Seteth abruptly stopped as he turned to face her, slightly taken aback. He saw her looked at her earnestly before averting her gaze. “O-or is there a different title you would prefer?” she soon asked as she fidgeted with her fingers.

For some reason, his expression softened slightly. “Seteth is fine. I would prefer that; however, I will continue to address you as professor. You are not that much older than everyone else, but it does not mean that they should take advantage of you because of your young age and possible…” he looked her up and down. “Inadequacies.”

Ah, he must feel doubtful of her abilities to teach. Something Sarina could agree with. “I do have a question… Why did Lady Rhea request me to be a professor?” She looked up to him, searching his face for an answer. He kept a stern and neutral expression, careful to not let anything slip. However, when he let out a sigh, she realized he was wondering the same thing.

“I have the utmost trust in her decisions, and I also have faith in whatever decision she makes, is the best one. Which is also to say, that you should remember that she had placed her trust in you. Be sure to not betray it,” he said, almost in a slightly threatening and intimidating manner. Sarina noted quietly he isn’t one to be trifled with, especially when anger.

“I understand,” she said quietly.

Seteth nodded his head in acknowledgement of her answer before continuing her walk. “This is the reception hall,” he began to mini tour. “If you want a little further down, you will reach the entrance hall, that leads the same way you entered the monastery.” It seems to be busier than it was earlier. Perhaps class had just been released? “The Academy are just about to start their school year,” Seteth explained, answering her unasked question. “To hire you as the new professor is rather impeccable timing, I must admit. Moving on though.” Seteth would walk her around after traveling through the reception and entrance hall, showing her where the marketplace is and the knights stable. She was allowed a brief reunion with Rienne, to see her in perfect condition as well as being fed. Once she said her goodbye to the mare, she followed Seteth to the Knight’s Hall, explaining to her that sometimes knights would come here to train sometimes, and if they traveled to the other side of the monastery, they would have seen the training grounds that are normally meant for the students to use. There was a separate area in the Knight’s hall that had a fireplace and some furniture where they could sit and rest, and there was even a bookshelf filled with literature and undoubtedly tactics and other related material.

He proceeded to show her around the courtyard, albeit briefly, simply showing her areas of respite. She noted how he avoided a particular area as she eyed a narrow pathway from the Knight’s hall and in the distance, she saw a set of stairs that descended down somewhere. She didn’t bother to question it, setting an internal reminder that she could always explore on her own to see what it was. They continued their venture towards the area that is called the Officers Academy.

The large building held three large classrooms and standing at each doorway was the banner of each house, start from the far left from where they stood: The Golden Deer, the Blue Lions, and the Black Eagles. She looked in the open area of the lush and cleanly cut grass, flowers scattered about with cats and dogs strolling by, interacting with the nearby students, or soaking in the sunlight. Sarina was impressed by the scenery and how well everything was maintained, which should be expected. Yet, she was struck with awe, nonetheless. “This is where you will be teaching once you have settled in,” Seteth informed her as she scanned the area. She looked back to him, remembering he was here to show her the area and that she will have time on her own to further familiarize herself with it on her own time.

As they were about to move from the area towards the dormitories, two particular house leaders exited from one of the classrooms and caught sight of them.

“Hey isn’t that…”

“Oh it is. Hey!”

The two turned their attention towards the approaching house leaders. It was Dimitri and Claude. “Is it true that you will be teaching here?” Dimitri was the first to inquire about her situation.

“You must have made quite a great first impression to land yourself a teaching gig here,” Claude commented as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Prince Dimitri, Claude,” Seteth greeted, not saying more than he needs to.

“Let me guess, you’re going to be our new professor, right? For the Golden Deer,” Claude boldly asks, stating it as if it was a fact.

“Claude, isn’t it a bit too presumptuous to assume that?” Dimitri asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest before looking back to Sarina. “We are delighted to be learning from you. Perhaps one of the houses here has catch your attention?” he asked.

Sarina looked between the two house leaders. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words left. She was quickly flustered and fidgeted with her fingers.

Seteth was quick to interject as he cleared his throat loudly. “She is still familiarizing with herself here at the monastery, at the moment. However, I’m sure she will be excited to get to know the students in a short while to make a better, informed decision. Isn’t that right, Professor?”

Sarina simply nodded her head quickly to his statement. “Yes.”

“Ah, my apologies then. If you need any help, please, don’t hesitate to ask,” Dimitri offered as he gives her a smile.

“We’ll just be on our way now,” Claude stated as he wraps an arm around Dimitri’s shoulders and pulls him away, giving him an all-knowing look, as if suggesting Dimitri was scheming something.

Dimitri gives him a look of denial of whatever was going through his mind as he is forcibly pulled away. Sarina was beginning to see what Manuela meant when she called them odd ducks. She looked over towards Seteth, encouraging him to continue with their tour.

And so, he did. The next area he wanted to show her was her room that she will be staying during her time in the monastery. It was one of the rooms of the dormitories. He unlocked the door before offering the key to her. “This will be your quarters. It isn’t much, but I hope it will suffice.”

Sarina stepped inside, glancing down to see a large carpeted rug on the ground that nearly covered the entire room. This was nearly twice as big of a room of that of an inn. It was certainly much nicer than what she was used to. So nice it made her uncomfortable almost. She looked to see a nice cozy and what she assumed, a plush bed with bedsheets and next to it was a nightstand that she could put her stand personal belongings. Were there three drawers in there? Did she need that many? She looked to the other side of the room and saw there was a desk; a desk that was more intricate and finely made than the ones she usually sees. There was a chair for her to sit in and an embedded shelve at the top with little drawers, and on either side of the chair was even more drawers than she can count right now. The surface was currently clean, but she expects to see future paperwork cluttered all over it once she begins teaching her class. She was given the basic quill pen and a bottle of ink to write. She looked next to the desk and saw a drawer chest and a bulletin board just above it. “It’s…. nice,” she commented. That was an understatement.

“I’m glad it suits to your liking,” Seteth said. “You will have more time to get yourself situated. Come along now,” he urged.

Sarina couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. She kind of wanted to try to sit at the new bed. Nonetheless, she followed Seteth to the dormitories that was just on the other side. He showed her that if she walked down the other way, she would find the doors to the training grounds, and within the same area, there was a large case of stairs that led to an upper floor above her building. He told her it was a sauna and bathhouse mix facility that students could use freely to relax and cleanse themselves in order to relieve stress. It was powered by a magical device it seems in order to keep it running, although he was quite unsure the schematics worked for filtered and hot water that is provided in the sauna. Nonetheless, she appreciated the information from Seteth as they continued their way to the dormitories. He explained to her the dormitories was split between two floors where normally, the nobles’ rooms are on the second floor while everyone else’s are on the first. Nearby the dormitories as the greenhouse where he explains that part of her duties as professor is that she will often assign tasks to her students which includes tending to the greenhouse. There was a variety of herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruits that they grow here, and they take serious and great care for them.

It was a bit refreshing to see the Officers Academy teach the students diligence and commitment in this way. Nearby the Greenhouse was the fishing pond and that this area is just behind the dining hall. If she recalled, her father sometimes liked fishing. She thought when the last time they had gone fishing together, so she hoped maybe they could get the opportunity to fish again. But at the mention of the dining hall, she couldn’t help but feel her interest piqued—as well as her stomach—when they began to make their way.

“And finally, the dining hall. I suppose you can call the mess hall as well as we had… several incidents here that has left it in a mess,” Seteth said, clearing his throat a bit. She wondered if he was trying to play with his words for a moment there.

Sarina looked towards the end and see chefs actively cooking food and that it was a built-in kitchen. They had long tables set out and plates of readied food already made, some fresh and hot, others chill, some lukewarm, and others downright cold, having been out for a while. There were a couple of cold dishes, but she could see a line forming with students trying to grab these plates of food or ordering a completely different dish if they didn’t see what they liked in the open menu. Quite honestly, she has never seen such delicious food cooked and out in the open before. The few moments she has, she could never dream to ever eat or even tough in a lifetime. She could feel her mouth almost salivating.

“And this concludes our tour,” Seteth announced, grabbing her attention from the food.

Sarina cleared her throat and tried to focus, keeping a neutral expression on her face. “I didn’t realize how much the monastery offers…” she admitted as she took in everything that she had seen today and looked towards the ground.

“I know it must be a lot, but I believe you will do fine,” Seteth said to her.

She felt feelings of doubt creep up to her as she fidgeted with her fingers. This was a terribly bad habit of hers. “It’s…. a lot of expectations than what I’m used to,” she said to him softly. She rarely opened up, but she figured if she didn’t say something now, then she was sure to fail his expectations—anyone’s really—if she kept quiet.

Seteth looked surprised. Although she kept a stoic expression that rivaled her father’s, her eyes and her demeanor showed that she was just as vulnerable as the next person. Not only that, she was also just as young as their students. Feeling sympathetic for the girl, he gently brought his hand up and gently placed it on her shoulder. “I’m sure you will do fine. You will have not only the other professors’ support, but you will have mine and Lady Rhea’s as well.”

He was met with her aquamarine eyes as she listened to his words. She gave a slight nod of her head, feeling somewhat better at his words.

“Now, do you have any other questions?” Seteth asked her.

She shook her head lightly. “I don’t think so… I think I’m going to try to talk to the other students… I have to pick a house to teach, right?” she asked him.

“Yes. I wish you the best of luck,” he said once more. “I will take my leave now.” He gives her a bow at the waist and shortly after, he walks off.

As she watched him walk off, she could feel her stomach rumble slightly. She hoped no one heard. Well one person did.

“ _Well, it will do you no good if you pass out in the middle of a conversation. Hmmm... say that cold treat is certainly looking appetizing. Perhaps you should try some,_ ” Sothis suggested in her head.

For the first time, Sarina agreed.


	13. Introductions of Three Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina is rapidly introduced to every student and learns a little more about each of the houses, slowly trying not to be overwhelmed by everything thrown at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember they said some BS about Leonie never seeing Jeralt's kid bc they were off somewhere else at the time. Not that it was plausible, but found it completely weird LMAO like ok, s u r e. I think it be more interesting if they did know each other?

Sarina didn’t stay in the dining hall for too long. She went with a peach sorbet (that what they told her it was), taking it with her to eat as she walked out of the hall. The weather was warm today, and it felt like a good day to enjoy a cold treat. She could hear Sothis’s pleasure at the taste of the cold dessert. It seems that her sense of taste and smell was also linked with her as well, but upon this discovery, she expects Sothis to be making some unexpected (or rather expected) demands in the future. She took a spoonful of the ice treat, bringing it into her mouth. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink color as she felt it melt on her tongue, the strong flavor of peach being tasted. Where was this her entire life? She found herself walking towards the Officers Academy as she quietly enjoyed her sweet treat. She didn’t quite blend in.

She wore her usual clothes: a black short-sleeved top lined with pink at the neck and a cut out at her chest and exposed part of her navel with a white collar wrapped around her neck with a hanging brooch that conveniently covered part of her cleavage. Attached at her waist was a hanging waist cape and she wore a black cloak where her arms slipped through large rips in the sleeves, letting the rest hang off her back like a cape of some sort. Around her waist was a belt with a dagger sheathed and at her hip was her sword. She wore short black shorts and underneath was an intricately designed black laced tights. She still wore light armor, a brace around her abdomen and light gauntlets on both her arms that stretched to the back of her hands as well as an armored knee brace on her left leg and tucked underneath were her heeled lack boots.

Surely, the look of a mercenary. But she seemed nothing like one as she took another sweet bite of her sugary iced dessert, tempted to let out a sigh of sheer happiness of its taste. She was getting distracted from her goal. She said she was going to acquaint herself with the students and she intended to do that. It was a mission. Right. A mission. That’s how she should think of it.

She thought about where to start though. She looked at each of the banner, keeping the metal spoon in her mouth.

“Oh, teach is that you?” A voice suddenly called to her.

She looked in the direction from where it came from and saw a familiar tan skinned boy with brown hair—Claude. She nodded her head as she removed the spoon and lodged it in the glass cup she held. “Hello, Claude,” she greeted.

“I see you’re enjoying yourself with a sweet treat,” Claude pointed out as he glanced what was in her hands.

“Ah, yes. It’s… sweet and cold. I didn’t think this existed,” she admitted as she looked down at it. She was a bit saddened that it was almost gone. Even Sothis was beginning to urge to get another one later.

“Wow, you really need to get out more though, but I guess you don’t get that kind of luxury living the mercenary life, right?” he asked her.

She answered his question with a light shake of her head. “I’m afraid not.” Awkward silence filled the air afterwards.

Claude gave a light cough. “So, now that you’re going to be teaching here, I should give you a proper introduction of myself,” he insisted as he gave a smile. “I’m Claude von Riegan. As you probably already know, I’m from the ruling house of the Leicester Alliance, but don’t worry yourself about all that madness.”

“Ah. It’s nice to meet you Claude,” She greeted properly this time. She wasn’t sure if he was considered a noble or a royal, but she gave an awkward bow to him while carefully holding the cup. “I heard each house has students from the country they represent… I was wondering if I could know a little more about them.”

“Ah, of course. Each house has about 8 students, including myself, that are from their reigning country. There are plenty of other students too of course. Actually, why don’t I introduce them to you? Wouldn’t it be easier like that?”

Sarina thought about it for a moment. Internally, she disliked the fact she had to talk and greet more people, but she had to make an attempt to bond with the students that she could potentially teaching, or rather yet, be seeing more of in the future as well. She soon nodded her head.

“Alright it’s settled teach!” Claude said as she took a step forward to follow him, he swiftly snatched the cup dessert she was holding in his hand. “Although I think it would be better if you talked to them without holding food in your hands.”

She blinked for a moment and lowered her head slightly, almost indicating her sadness of her taken food. Claude didn’t expect such a reaction and as he looked at how she slumped slightly, it almost made him think of a puppy. He wondered internally if that was a rude thing to say. He decided against it. “Well, this way Teach.”

“Isn’t it a bit too early for you to be calling me that?” Sarina couldn’t help but ask as she followed him towards the Golden Deer classroom.

“Haha, I’m confident that you’re going to make the right choice.” Claude stated as he patted her shoulder as he led her inside in the classroom. It was a particularly large classroom she noted. Although he mentioned each house had a prominent of eight students each, she could tell each classroom was meant to hold much more as well. Most likely other attending students. She wondered if the three houses intermingled with each other in seminars though. As they entered, she could see numerous of students talking amongst themselves, having yet realized their presence. Claude took advantage of the scattered students for now, believing it was probably better to meet them a few at a time rather than all at once. He didn’t want to overwhelm her. He saw two girls talking with each other, one with pink hair placed into pigtails and the other with sky blue hair in a braided hair style. “Ah, let’s start with them—”

“Oh Claude, how unexpected to see you in the classroom,” An eloquent male voice suddenly spoke to him.

Claude and Sarina turned towards from where it came and approaching them was a tall boy with short purple hair. The hairstyle cut was… a bit questionable, Sarina noted silently. She looked towards Claude, expecting him to introduce them. “Ah, hey there Lorenz. I’m just here to show our new professor around.”

“Soon to be,” Sarina quickly corrected as she sighed softly at his insistent that she would be teaching his house.

“Hm, well either well, so you’re that renowned mercenary everyone has been talking about,” the boy, Lorenz, said as he looked to her, his hand hovering close to his face. “Perhaps you’d like to join me for a cup of tea sometime. Ah, how rude of me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, and you will be sure that you want to remember it, for I will be—”

“Right, right, love to chat, but she has more people to meet,” Claude interjected as he began to push Sarina along. Lorenz let out a ‘hmph’ as he commented how rude Claude was. “Lorenz is the heir of the Gloucester territory, but as you can pick up, he’s quite a bit arrogant and he thinks of himself as a lady’s man,” he explained to her, giving some background of the boy.

“Oh, I see,” Sarina said as she nodded slowly in understanding.

“With that said, I wouldn’t mind never hearing him talk about his noble obligations ever again,” he admitted with a light laugh.

“Oooh, what do we have here.” A feminine voice spoke this time.

Approaching them next was the two girls that Claude wanted to reach out first. “Ah, Hilda, perfect timing,” Claude stated as he held his hand out. “Right here is Hilda, the only daughter of Duke Goneril. You’ll find no one lazier than her,” he teased.

“Ha-ha, very funny Claude,” Hilda said as she took offense to that comment, placing her fists on either side of her hips. She looked over to Sarina and smiled at her. “Are you that mercenary? Everyone’s talking about you. Oh and right here is—”

“M-Marianne von Edmund…” The girl next to her shyly and quietly introduced herself.

“She’s a little shy,” Claude explained. He looked over to the two girls. “I’m just introducing the professor to our students, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her.”

Hilda let out a giggle. “Well I look forward to seeing more of you!” she exclaimed.

“I-I as well,” Marianne stuttered out as she lowered her head and looked towards the ground.

“Likewise,” Sarina said as she gave a bow of her head before being pushed along once more.

“Alright, catch you ladies later,” Claude bid to the two girls as he looked around the room. Not too far was another pair, a young girl with white hair, similar to Edelgard’s, and a boy with a light green hair that is cut in a bob like style, and glasses over his eyes. “Ah over there will be Lysithea and Ignatz. Ignatz is the one with glasses and Lysithea is our youngest student here, but don’t treat her like a child if you don’t want her angry.”

“I can imagine you doing it for fun,” Sarina couldn’t help but comment. Claude seemed like the guy to do that.

“Hey, you have to make your own fun in this place, you know,” Claude justified.

Hearing being talked about, the aforementioned students turned towards Claude and Sarina. “Oh Claude and—oh is this the new professor everyone has been talking about?”

Sarina almost let out a breath. It’s like everyone is saying the same thing right now, but she supposed it couldn’t be helped. Was what she did really that infamous or something?

“Well it’s nice to meet you. My name is Lysithea von Ordelia,” the young girl formally introduced herself. “Please do not forget it.”

The boy next to her gave a polite bow as he introduced himself. “It’s an honor to meet you! I am Ignatz Victor. I’ve heard what you did, and it was truly amazing.”

“I think it’s a little exaggerated…” Sarina tried to deny.

“Nonsense, I’m a living witness to what you did, come on Teach,” Claude insisted as he patted her back, maybe giving a bit of a hard slap.

“Hey what’s with all the noise here?”

Walking over to the small group now was a large and tall male student, his shirt stretching apart to accommodate for his large muscles that he possessed. Following just behind him was a young girl with short orange hair, someone that Sarina seemed to recognize upon closer inspection.

“Oh, is this a guest? Hey if you’re hungry, the dining’s hall just that way if that’s what you’re looking for,” the tall boy said to Sarina.

The girl next to him looked over to Sarina and was surprised to see her. “No, Raphael, That’s Captain Jeralt’s kid!” she exclaimed.

“Oh Leonie, you know her?” Claude said, a bit surprised. “I only thought you knew her dad,” he admitted.

“Leonie,” Sarina soon interjected. “It’s… been a long time,” she said to her. “I didn’t know you were at the Officers Academy.”

“Wow, you really haven’t changed a bit, Sarina,” Leonie stated, a friendly competitive tone heard in her voice as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “When I heard Captain Jeralt was here, I should’ve known you would’ve been here too—but I didn’t expect you to be a professor.”

“Ahh, yeah…” Sarina said as she lowered her head slightly. “It’s been… a lot,” she said, trying to use as little words as possible, but what she described was a pure understatement.

“Well while I’m glad this is a nice reunion, surely the professor has better things to do?” Lysithea soon popped into the conversation.

Ignatz gave an awkward laugh as Claude just gave a pat on Sarina’s back. “Well I think that’s about everyone here quite honestly. “As you already apparently know, this is Leonie and this big guy is Raphael, the most cheerful guy you’ll ever meet.”

Raphael pulled on his suspenders as he gave a cheerful laugh. “You betcha,” he said proudly. “Hey say do you like eating? I could go for a meal right now!”

“Didn’t you just eat a while ago?” Leonie said as she shook her head lightly.

“Hey, if I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I can’t deny my body any food it craves,” Raphael said to Leonie. “I gotta eat if I want to become a knight.”

Sarina quietly thought how good food would be right now, but she had to make best of her time at the moment.

Claude just laughs as he says, “Alright big guy, you know where the dining hall is. Well, that’s all the students from the Golden Deer house. I hope we all made a good impression on you so far.”

Sarina slowly nodded her head. “I still have to meet everyone else though.” She hears the bell ringing loudly from the outside. “I think that’s my cue to leave.” Before she thinks about walking out of the classroom, she turned towards Leonie. “It was… good seeing you again, Leonie,” she said to her.

Leonie seemed surprised by her words and being caught off guard, she sputtered her words a little bit. “Yeah, it’s… good to see you too actually. Hey, maybe we can… spar sometime together? I wanna see how good you got, but I bet I’m better,” she said to her confidently.

Sarina nodded to her. “Okay,” she agreed. She turned towards Claude. “Thanks for introducing me to everyone Claude,” she said to him with a bow of her head.

“No problem, Teach, catch you later then.”

He lets her go as she turns around for the door. She steps outside of the classroom and a little further just in case as she lets out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. Although it was seven people that Claude introduced her too, she had to do this two more times with the other two houses. It was exhausting, but she had to pull through.

She looked to her left and if she remembered correctly, the Blue Lions classroom was just next door. She looked around, wondering if she would find Dimitri by chance, however, he seemed to be nowhere in sight. Perhaps she should try her chances in the classroom and made her way over. As luck would have it when she approached the classroom , she would hear someone calling for her. They say the tiger comes when it’s called.

She stopped where she stood and running up to her was the Prince of Faerghus himself, Dimitri. “Hello--- err… your highness?” she said in a questionable voice as she awkwardly bowed to him.

“A-ahh, please, there’s no need for that,” he insisted. “Please, treat me like you would anyone else.”

Sarina pressed her lips together in a thin line. “Okay,” she quickly agreed. “I was just looking for you actually,” she admitted as she looked up to him, craning her neck back a little.

“Oh?” he said in response.

She nodded her head. “I… haven’t had the chance to pick a house, and I wanted to get to know everyone a little bit better before I chose.” She looked down to her hands, fidgeting with her fingers again.

“Ah, I see. I would like to apologize then from earlier,” he said to her.

“Do you apologize a lot?” Sarina couldn’t help but asked.

He became flustered at such a straight-forward question and sputtered his words a bit. She didn’t realize the rudeness of her question. “N-no, I’m sorry—I mean—” he became more flustered as he brought his hand up to hide his flushed face.

She blinked and finally realized the rudeness in her words. “Sorry, I just meant… you seemed to be saying sorry a lot sometimes… I’m sorry for my rudeness.” She gave an apologetic bow to him.

This seemed to fluster him even more. “No please, it’s perfectly fine.”

Sarina raised up as she watched the now flustered prince. She didn’t realize how easily embarrassed he got. Perhaps she should watch what she says for now on. “Well, anyways… Maybe you could tell me a little more about yourself?” she suggested.

“Me?” Dimitri said, unexpected. “I, well… Please, forgive me, it’s… difficult to open up on the spot like that, don’t you think?” he said to her, averting his gazes lightly

That was strike 2 for her Sarina. How did she talk so smoothly with Claude? Perhaps because he did most of the talking than she did. “Oh.” She lowered her head slightly.

Dimitri watched her and like Claude, the way she lowered her head to the ground and her gaze made him think of her of a sad… puppy. He cleared his throat. “It’s just that, my story is just a bit an unpleasant one. Please don’t let that color your view of you, but I understand if that can’t be helped.”

She looked up to him again as he said that. She didn’t expect such a response. She shook her head lightly. “Everyone has their own stories,” she stated, talking in a soft voice. She thought about herself momentarily. “Um, how about everyone else? I was told that each House has a particular set of students that come from the country the house represents,” she said to him, hoping to divert the conversation to something lighter.

“Ah, yes.” He thought for a moment. “Would you like to meet everyone then? I’m sure you would learn to know them better if you talk to them.”

Sarina was silently hoping that she didn’t have to, but he made a point—as did Claude before. “Okay,” she simply said and waited for him to lead the way.

He gave her a kind smile as he led the way to the Blue Lions classroom. Similarly, to the Golden Deer house, the students were inside and scattered about. Just as they entered, they were quickly greeted by someone already. “Well, well! It must be my lucky day today, a beautiful lady walking right in,” the voice claimed.

“Sylvain,” Dimitri said in an exasperated voice.

Sarina blinked as she was unsure on how to respond to that.

“Let me guess, cat got your tongue?” The boy in question, Sylvain, said to her as he gave a wink, a charming smile gracing his lips.

“I’m sorry,” Dimitri apologized to her. “This is Sylvain, he is the heir to House Gautier. Despite what he seems, he is a capable person. However… well…”

“Come on, you can’t think of me of that low, your highness,” Sylvain said as he crossed his arms behind his head.

“Well, you are a bit of a skirt chaser.”

“Ouch.” Sylvain places a hand over his chest, as if struck by an arrow. “That’s harsh,” he said, but he seems to take it in good nature as he continues to smile.

“I guess if the shoe fits,” Sarina let slip, recalling her father saying something similar in a similar situation.

Dimitri turned away as he covered his mouth, stifling down a chuckle, while from afar, a bout of snide laughter could be heard. Approaching them was another male student with dark violet hair placed into a high bun. “Not only is she sharp with a sword, she’s sharp with her words too,” he commented as he placed his hand on his hip.

Sylvain gives a forced chuckle. “Hey now, let’s not get carried away.”

“Sorry,” Sarina apologized, not realizing she had said something incredibly rude. It had just slipped out from her mouth. The prince was starting to rub off of her it seems as now she was the one who was continuously apologizing.

Dimitri cleared his throat after he calmed down. “Right here is Felix.”

“I heard you were quite skilled. So you’re the one who saved the boar’s life, huh?” he said as he stared at Sarina, his piercing amber eyes locking gaze with her aquamarine ones.

She wasn’t unnerved, but she unsure why he was looking at her intensely.

“Spar with me, I want to see how strong you really are,” he requested—or rather demanded from her.

“Felix, must you always speak of fighting right away?” Approaching them was a young girl with bright blonde hair, tied back into a braid. “Oh, hello! My name is Ingrid, I’m from House Galatea,” she quickly introduced herself as she bowed politely. “I’m sorry about Felix, he just loves a good fight sometimes.” She looked over to see Sylvain and gave a reprimanding look, who immediately held his hands in peace. “I hope Sylvain hasn’t tried anything yet on you,” she said as she sighed worriedly.

Sarina tilted her head slightly, unsure what she meant.

“Oh, didn’t peg you one as an innocent type,” Sylvain slyly commented before being gutted by Ingrid with her elbow. He lets out a strained cough as he holds his stomach.

Sarina looked towards Dimitri, wondering if she should intervene. He shook his head lightly. “We can be a lively bunch, but I assure you this is normal. Um, how I introduce you to everyone else?”

“Hmph. The next time we meet, I look forward to sparring with you and beating you,” Felix boldly proclaimed to her.

“Okay,” Sarina could only respond before Dimitri could interject.

The prince cleared his throat loudly. “This way,” he insisted and she quickly followed along, her heels clicking against the ground as she let the other three to their own conversation.

“You all seemed close,” she noted to the prince.

“Ah yes, we are all childhood friends. So we all grew up together,” he explained to her and she slowly nodded her head to the response. Soon, they approached two girls who stood close to the corner of the classroom, close to the fireplace that was well lit. The two girls seemed engrossed in their own conversation until they heard footsteps approaching them. They turned and their faces lighted up upon the appearance of the prince. “Oh your highness!” the smaller girl with orange hair greeted.

“Hello, Dimitri, how are you?” the taller girl with light, dirty blonde hair asked.

“I am doing well, how about yourselves?” he asked in return.

“We are fine as well,” the same girl answered back and turned to see Sarina. “Oh, and who’s this? You don’t look familiar at all.” She noted as she tried to remember if she had seen Sarina before.

“Oh Mercie, I think she’s that mercenary everyone has been talking about!” the other girl said, as if forgetting Sarina wasn’t standing right there.

It seemed to follow as the girl, ‘Mercie’ said, “Now that I think about it, that does sound like something Dimitri may have said…”

Dimitri cleared his throat to remind the girls the two were standing right here. “Well she will be attending here during her time in the monastery,” he formally introduced Sarina to the girls.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” the taller girl said in a soft voice as she smiled kindly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mercedes, and this is my best friend—”

“Oh! I’m Annette! It’s nice to meet you,” the girl, Annette, quickly introduced herself after her best friend.

“Hello,” Sarina greeted with a nod of her head.

“We look forward to having you here,” Mercedes said as she gave a light giggle.

“And I look forward to seeing some of you,” Sarina said in return.

“Would you like to meet the last two students,” Dimitri asked her, grabbing her attention.

“Ah, okay. It was nice meeting you,” Sarina said again and nodded her head to the two girls. The two girls bid their goodbyes to Sarina and watched as Dimitri led Sarina away. “They were nice,” she commented quietly.

“Yes, they are, Annette is a very talented student who scored high marks at the Royal School of Sorcery, and Mercedes… well I don’t know much about her, but I heard she was born to Imperial nobility. But nonetheless, she’s very kind and she pays much attention to everyone around her,” Dimitri explained some of their background to Sarina.

Sarina didn’t quite understand some of it as she was unfamiliar with the royal school that he spoke of or of the Imperial nobility. She didn’t really get all that as she was never interested in the political affairs of the world. Perhaps she should start now if she was going to be teaching. In fact, she couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed to show that she knew nothing.

Dimitri watched her momentarily before looking around and spotting the two students who were left to introduced. They were on the other side of the classroom, near the entrance. “Over here,” he said to her and led them to her. They would be approaching two boys, one who stood tall and high with brown skin and white hair, and another young boy who was much shorter and had messy short silver hair but dashing light green eyes. “Hello Dedue, Ashe.”

The shorter boy, Ashe, turned around slightly startled by the prince’s appearance. “Ah, your highness!” he looked over to see Sarina. “Oh, hi there!” As he looked closer, he seemed to recognize her. “Oh, I’ve seen you walking around with Seteth earlier. You must be the one everyone’s talking about. I am Ashe, it’s great to meet you!” he greeted her cordially with a bright smile on his face.

Sarina thought he was adorable. She wondered if he was the same age as Lysithea. “Hello,” she greeted and then turned towards of who she presumed was Dedue.

He stood tall and towered over both Ashe and her. He held a bit of an intimidating aura around himself, but it was none that affected Sarina too much. He suddenly gave a bow to her, as if filled with gratitude and debt to her. “I have heard that you rescued his Highness. I cannot express how grateful I am with words. Should you ever require my strength, please know that I will hasten to repay this debt,” he said suddenly to her.

“I…” Sarina had no idea how to respond to such a thing.

“Dedue, please,” Dimitri implored his friend as he shook his head lightly, seemingly embarrassed. “Dedue has been a loyal vassal to me and been working in my service for the past four years. He’s a bit stern, but he means well,” he tried to explain to Sarina.

Although, the explanation didn’t really help her too much as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Well, I was just doing what anyone would’ve done, I’m sure…” she said, trying to use her words carefully.

“… Yes, of course,” Dedue said, however, the pause in his statement unsettled her just a tad bit.

“We look forward to having you here,” Ashe eagerly said to her.

“Likewise.” Sarina responded back to him. The next bell of the hour seemed to have rung and garnered everyone’s attention momentarily.

“Well, that covers just about everyone. I hope this was an enlightening experience for you,” Dimitri said to Sarina and turned towards to Dedue and Ashe. “Dedue, Ashe.” He gives them a nod of acknowledgement before walking off, leading Sarina away to the entrance.

 _What a gentleman_ , Sarina thought to herself as she was escorted out of the classroom. Sylvain attempted to whistle at the two, as if suggesting something, only to be quickly put down by Ingrid once again. As she stepped outside, she realized she had one more house left. She let out a breath, trying to mentally prepare herself. She looked up at the time and saw the sun was threatening to set.

“That must have been overwhelming. Perhaps I should have eased you into the introductions?” Dimitri said as he noted her release of her breath, taking it as a sign of her tiredness.

She looked up to him and lightly shook her head. “No, it’s just been a long day is all,” she admitted to him. “Thank you, Dimitri, I’m glad you introduced me to everyone. It was very… enlightening,” she said to him.

This seems to bring a smile to his face. “I’m glad to be of help. I hope you do consider joining our house—you would be a great asset to us,” he said to her.

“I guess you’ll know once I get through the last house,” Sarina said to him before sighing softly. She quickly realized she was being rude again. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy acquainting myself with everyone.”

She hears him give a light laugh. “No, I understand. It must be tiring to be meeting so many people, especially all at once. Well, I do not wish to keep you back any further. Good day.” He gives her a bow.

“You too,” she returns with a bow of her own. She turns around and begins to head for the last house classroom. There was more to Dimitri than she thought there was. When she thought about it, she didn’t feel that uncomfortable talking to him. She glanced back to the banner of the classroom, which depicted a white lion covered in a blue mane. She thought it was strange to see such a symbol representing the house quite honestly. When she met the Blue Lion house students, she thought of them as… small wolf cubs. She supposed that’s how she would describe them, while the Golden Deer students were wild and expression deerlings.

She looked back ahead and found herself in front of the Black Eagles classroom, staring at the red banner that depicted a black eagle. She peered inside and saw the students scattered much like before. She was expecting to see Edelgard, but it seems she was not here. She had a feeling of déjà vu however. She took a gamble so she barely attempted to place a foot forwards, and then suddenly she would hear someone calling after her. Ah, just like she expected. She turned around half-expectantly, seeing the white-haired girl before her. “Hello, Edelgard,” she greeted, deciding to take the initiation this time.

Edelgard was the one to look surprised, not expecting Sarina to take the initiation in their greetings. “Um, hello,” she finally responded. "I was just about to head inside the classroom because I have forgotten something,” she said to her, however it sounded like a poor excuse. “Did you need something?” she asked.

Sarina shook her head lightly. “Well, I do,” she retracted her earlier gesture. “I’m sure you have heard by now that I—”

“That you took up a teaching position? Yes, I have heard. It is a pity,” Edelgard admitted as she looked up to Sarina tilted her head slightly. She was reminded of a puppy when she tilted her head like that. “I was hoping you would lend your strength to the Empire.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of other people who are as capable as I am,” Sarina stated, tired of people applauding her skills. While she was not one to be humble, she could tell her skills were greatly exaggerated. She wondered if it had to do anything with the fact that she was Jeralt’s daughter, as she had just recently learned, he had quite the reputation. “I digress. I wanted to know more about you and the Black Eagles.”

Edelgard’s eyes seemed to light up just a bit. “Are you considering teaching our house?” she asked expectantly.

“I… haven’t decided yet,” Sarina answered slowly, trying to let her down easy, not wanting to bring her hopes up.

“Oh…. I see. My apologies, I guess I was a little excited there,” Edelgard said as she cleared her throat a bit, her cheeks becoming a bit flushed. “Anyways, well let me introduce myself properly to you then. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, the princess and heir apparent to the Adrestian Empire. What else would you like to know?”

“Could you introduce me to your classmates? I am… not good with initiating conversation,” Sarina admitted as she looked towards the ground.

“I never thought of you as someone who was shy,” Edelgard commented, misunderstanding the reason.

“It’s not that I’m shy,” Sarina attempted to clarified. She tried to properly explain as she took a moment to think of her words. “I’m not good with words.” She decided to be blunt about it.

“Ah, I see. Well then, come right this way,” Edelgard gestured to the classroom, allowing Sarina to walk inside first. Edelgard stepped inside after her and looked around, taking note of a tall, pale skinned man talking with a young girl with magenta colored hair. “Let’s start with Hubert and Petra,” she suggested. “Hubert is the heir of Marquis Vestra and he has been serving me since I was a child. When you meet him, you may find him a bit… cold. Or more than cold. And next to him is Petra, she is from an archipelago that is just west of Fodlan called Brigid. She is the granddaughter of their king, and her country is a vassal state of the Empire. She is still learning our language, so communication might be a bit rough around the edges.”

“I see… Okay,” Sarina responded shortly before stepping up towards the two with Edelgard.

“Hello Hubert, Petra,” Edelgard greeted them first to grab their attention. “I like to introduce the professor to you two, first.”

“Ah, so this is the infamous mercenary everyone seems to be talking about,” the man named Hubert stated. “I am Hubert, a humble servant of Lady Edelgard,” he greeted Sarina. “I heard you came to the aid of Her Highness. You have my most sincere thanks. This young lady next to me is Petra,” he gestured to the girl next to him.

The girl, Petra, gave a bow as she attempted to introduce herself formally to Sarina. “Hello, I am called Petra. I uh… I am pleased to be meeting with…” she pressed her lips together as her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to think of how the greeting went. “I am pleased to have met you,” she slowly said, attempting to correct herself.

“She is actually a princess back on her archipelago. In a manner of speaking, she is considered the heir to the throne,” Hubert said to Sarina, providing further background on Petra.

Sarina waited patiently when Petra tried to introduce herself. She gave her a polite nod and a bow of her own to her as she returned the greeting. “I am pleased to have met you as well.” She turned towards Hubert to address his gratitude from earlier. She preferred this one compared to how Dedue thanked her, she silently admitted.

“I’m glad to see you all getting along well,” Edelgard said as she watched the interactions between them.

“Oh my, here’s a familiar face I don’t recognize,” a feminine voice greeted. Turning around was a young girl with brown curly locks that fell over her shoulders and wearing a stylish hat on her head. “Hello, what brings you here?” she asked.

“Ah, Dorothea,” Edelgard greeted her first. “I was showing the new professor around and letting her meet the Black Eagles students,” she explained on behalf of Sarina.

Sarina nodded in confirmation. “Hello.”

“Oh I see! Edie, you’re so nice,” she complimented her house leader as she brought her hand to her face, giggling a bit. “My name is Dorothea. I was a member of an opera company back in the Empire. You should hear me sing sometime,” she offered with a wink.

Her personality somewhat reminded her of someone…. Sylvain’s face suddenly popped into her mind, except she was much more polite and not a skirt chaser. “I’ll… consider it,” she answered slowly.

“Oh, professor,” Dorothea giggled teasingly, but Sarina didn’t seem to pick up on the reason why.

Edelgard quickly cleared her throat. “Anyways, let’s move on, I see the boys over here. Come now professor,” she urged her.

“Ah, it was nice meeting you,” Sarina quickly bid to Dorothea as she followed Edelgard further down the classroom. She saw two boys, one of them was tall and lanky with long green haired, tied back into a ponytail, while the other looked strong, but short with light blue hair.

“Lindhardt, Caspar, I’m here to introduce the new professor,” Edelgard said to them as they approached them.

This seemed to pique their interests almost immediately—or at least one of them. The green haired boy let out a yawn and looked tired. “Is it true that you saved Edelgard?” the light blue haired boy asked excitedly. “That’s incredible! The name’s Caspar, pleased to meet ya!” he said introduced himself enthusiastically, while the other…

“Lindhardt. Goodbye.” The other boy said curtly and was prepared to walk off.

“Yeesh, Lindhardt, how’d you get into this academy with those manners? Hey, don’t walk off while I’m talking to you!” Caspar quickly followed Lindhardt who casually walked away from the two girls.

Edelgard sighed as she lightly shook her head. “I’ll have to apologize for those two,” she said to Sarina as she decided to properly inform her who they were. “Caspar is the second son of Count Bergliez. He is quite eager to prove himself and as you can see, is rather energetic and is the kind to headfirst into battle. Lindhardt on the other hand… well, he’s remarkedly intelligent, however he refuses to apply himself to tasks that doesn’t interest. He’s rather fond of napping almost above all else.”

“I see….That’s… interesting,” Sarina said, although with the neutral expression on her face and with her slow talking, she sounded like she was feigning interest, which was not her intention.

Edelgard seemed to pick up on it and didn’t comment on it. “Well that just leaves two more students—one of which I’m not looking forward to,” she sighed as she held her head a bit, as if feeling a headache.

Sarina blinked, and was curious why she felt that way. Edelgard promptly led her back towards the entrance on the right of the table was two people, a tall boy with light orange hair with matching amber eyes, and a young petite girl with wavy, purple hair who seemed to tremble and on edge. Before they reached them, Edelgard quickly stopped them as she looked back to Sarina, warning her, “Bernadetta is that girl on the left. She’s the only daughter of Count Varley, but I will say she can be a little… skittish, lack for a better word. A recluse more like it, so you have to approach her carefully. The boy on the right—his name is Ferdinand von Aegie, and he sees me as some kind of bitter rival.” She sighed as she mentioned the last part. “He’s always trying to challenge me, so don’t be surprised if you see him trying to when we greet him.”

Sarina nodded in understanding. “Got it.”

Edelgard smiled at her before turning back to approach them again. “Bernadetta, Ferdinand,” she called for them to get their attention.

Ferdinand looked up to see Edelgard, however, before he could greet her, Bernadette let out a shriek. “Ah! What?! I don’t talk to strangers!” she yelled out immediately as she ducked down close to the ground, covering her head with her arms and attempted to hide herself.

“Bernadetta, this is no stranger!” Ferdinand tried to assure her while Edelgard and Sarina felt a sweat drop at the side of their faces. Despite what Edelgard warned, not even she predicted the reaction that Bernadetta gave. “This is our house leader, and next to her is the person who she owes a great debt to! This will not do,” he sighed as he shakes his head and attempts to bring her back up on her feet, trying to be gentle and coaxing her. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Ferdinand von Aegir, and this right here is Bernadetta.”

The girl was pulled up to her feet again, with a bit of coaxing, but the girl quickly got behind Ferdinand as an attempt to hide from Edelgard and Sarina. “I-I’m Bernadetta….” She squeaked out.

Sarina felt sorry for the poor girl and simply bowed politely to both her and Ferdinand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she said in a soft voice, hoping to ease the girl’s worry.

“Oh no, she’s mad at me, isn’t she? I knew it, I should’ve just stayed in my room!” Bernadetta yelled again, earning another sigh from both Edelgard and Ferdinand.

“Um, maybe we could talk another time?” Sarina suggested to both Ferdinand and Bernadetta.

“Yes, that would be great,” Ferdinand said as he turned back to the girl to try to calm her. His efforts slowly going to vain as she seemed to have begun to mumble strings of incoherency.

Edelgard and Sarina slowly backed away to leave the two be. “Well, I wished that was a better introduction, but I guess it can’t be helped,” Edelgard lamented to Sarina as she escorted her out of the classroom to leave everyone to their own devices.

“It’s nice, at least I can put a name to a face… for the most part,” Sarina said as she let out a small breath. A moment of silence passed between them as they stepped outside and she looked up to see the sky begin to turn orange. “Thank you for introducing me to everyone.”

“The pleasure is all mine, professor. I will trust you to make the right choice,” she said to her as she smiled, seeming confident that Sarina will choose the Black Eagles.

Sarina bit back a sigh. She had a similar reaction from Claude and quite honestly, it made her a bit uncomfortable. “I hope I will,” she could only say in response. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, goodbye professor.” Edelgard turned back to the classroom, walking her way towards Hubert, Petra, and Dorothea, the three seeming to be in engrossed in a conversation they were having.

Sarina stepped further away from the classroom and the building itself. If she recalled, if she just walked just around the corner, she will reach her quarters. However, there was still some daylight left, so she decided to find her father. He couldn’t have left the monastery when they had just arrived. Maybe he was being shown his new (or old?) responsibilities as Lady Rhea seemed adamant in him being reenlisted to the knights. She let out a sigh as she decided to walk towards the reception hall, intending to walk back up to the second floor of where the Audience Chambers was. Now that she thought about it, there was a long hallway down from the Audience Chambers that she has yet to see, nor had Seteth showed it to her. She took this opportunity to make her way there, and hopefully she can find her father.

The day seemed to grow longer as she walked.


	14. Crests and the Joys of Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina learns a little more about what Crests are, suspecting there is more to them than what meets the eye. She goes to the dining hall for the first time and indulges herself in the pleasures of eating food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inns exists sure, but I imagine the foods at the monastery is like god-tier.

Sarina reached the second floor, walking down the small hallway before making a right. Just as she thought, there were more rooms and when she looked further down the hallway, she saw the pathway continues on and splits into two, a long hallway on either side. This monastery was amazing, she thought to herself as she ventured down the pathway. She heard a voice coming from the left room and stopped just a few feet away from the doorway. As she tried to listen closely, she recognized the voice that was sighing and groaning: Jeralt.

She jumped at the chance in peering inside and she saw her father standing in front of a bookshelf, hands on his hips as his head hung low and shaking it lightly. She looked to her side to see the door and reached over, giving a loud knock to get her father’s attention. His head shot up in startle as he glanced back. His shoulders relaxed as he realized it was his daughter. “Hey there, kid,” he greeted.

She didn’t take long to stepped further inside her room, almost skittering her way over to her father. She could give him a big hug like she used to do when she was younger, but she had more sense than to do that. She stood in front of him, her head craning back as her eyes stared up at him, showing how tired she was. She looked expectantly to him.

A soft chuckle left Jeralt’s lips as he placed his hand on her head, giving it a gentle rub and she nuzzled her head into this touch. “Rough day kid?” he asked her.

She nodded her head. “I’m tired…” she murmured as she slouched a bit in where she stood. She looked up to him. “You too?” she asked as she heard him sighing earlier.

“In a way,” he sighed as he retracted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “Here I am again, the office of the captain of the knights.” He gestured to the large office that they gave him, and she looked around. It was rather roomy, she silently commented. “But, I’m merely to assist. According to Seteth, or whatever his name is, the captain is getting on in years and having a hard time to keep up with the responsibilities with the job.”

This made her think a little. “So he’s older than you are?” she asked.

Jeralt let out a laugh at that. “I don’t think so,” he answered, but caused her to become more confused. He swiftly changed the subject as he asked her, “How are you settling into your new position?”

Sarina slouched again, her head lowering as she looked towards the ground. “I still have to pick a house…I talked to so many people… it’s hard,” she repeated about the difficulties.

“I can imagine. You don’t really like talking a lot,” he recalled as he scratched the back of his head.

Sarina nodded her head before looking up at him with her doll-like eyes. “Help,” she squeaked out.

“Sorry, kid, you’re on your own,” Jeralt said as he shook his head.

She let out a huff of breath, her lips protruding a bit as she gave a pout. She soon recalled the reason why she needed to to talk to her father. “Oh, dad.”

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Did… you talk to Seteth yet?” she asked, nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.

“Hm? About what?”

“About… um…. The full moon,” she quietly said.

It took a moment for it to register. “Right, I forgot about that,” he said as he thought for a moment. “I’ll ask for a private audience with Lady Rhea and Seteth. The fewer the people that knows, the better, but I believe they can give you the best accommodations they can.”

Sarina nodded in agreement to that as she sighed softly. It was only during the full moons that she was usually the most agitated, in a manner of speaking. It wasn’t quite a ‘requirement’ when it’s a full moon, but it was when her ‘urges’ are at its peak. She has tried to resist them in previous years, but she always gave into them and perhaps it should be like that.

“With that said,” Jeralt spoke, interrupting her thoughts. “Try to avoid changing too much… I don’t want to hear a ruckus going about the monastery,” he stated, admitting he doesn’t like cleaning after messes that happens.

She was a bit disappointed at that statement and realized she felt her freedoms being restricted. Her shoulders slumped again as she thought about how they were both forced into positions they didn’t want and now she lost the freedom to run about. It made sense and it would be dangerous if she did, but she didn’t hide her disappointment.

Jeralt sensed it as he patted her shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it for now. We’ll work something out. Just focus on your job for now, alright?” he suggested to her.

“Alright…” Sarina said quietly. Soon enough, a knock was heard and interrupted the moment between them. The two turned their head to see who was coming in.

“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t realize you were busy.” It was Seteth.

“No, you’re just in time,” Jeralt stated as he gently nudged Sarina along. “I’ll catch you later, alright kid?”

She nodded her head and looked back to Seteth. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement as she walked past him and out of the office. She decided to continue down the hallway, not wanting to eavesdrop on whatever conversation her father and Seteth was going to have. She was glad that she had her father with her, but when she talked to him, she could feel his uneasiness, even if he hid it well from her. She wondered what it was that worried him so much. As she ventured down the hallway, she glanced to her right and noted Professor Hanneman. She recalled that he wanted her to drop by when she had time and it so happened that she did. She decided to go towards the room, giving a knock at the open doorway to get his attention.

Hanneman didn’t seem to notice her presence as he was reading a book, seeming engrossed in it. Sarina wondered if she should interrupt, but she wasn’t sure when the next time she would have time. She walked inside and over to the professor, gently tapping his arm. “Professor Hanneman?” she called for him.

“Huh? Yes? Oh! Professor!” Hanneman soon greeted as he closed his book. “I’m sorry, I was just caught up in something!”

She shook her head lightly. “It’s fine. You said you wanted me to stop by?”

“Ah, I didn’t expect that you would be here so soon. I’m sorry, I’m a bit unprepared at the moment, but since you’re here,” he gestured to his room. “This is my research laboratory. I’ve worked hard to furnish this office with the rare materials and purpose-built equipment for my work,” he explained to her.

“Oh, I see… You mentioned you were a…. Crest…? Researcher...?” she asked him as she brought her hand up to her face, resting her cheek against it.

“Indeed, I did. There are quite a few around here who have crests, but there is still so much we don’t know about them. However, as of recently, we are beginning to learn more and more about them, and in fact, we might be close to discovering something extraordinary.” Hanneman continued to ramble on about these crests that he was engrossed in, but as he did, Sarina was having a hard time to keeping up in the conversation. When he noted her silence, he cleared his throat. “Forgive me, as you can see, I get lost in the topic about crests. Is there something you need professor?”

“Um…. What are… crests, exactly?” She asked sheepishly.

“What?” Hanneman said in shocked. “You mean to say you have no idea what they are?”

Sarina nodded her head slowly. “I… never knew they were so important.”

Silence filled the room between them and Hanneman looked at her with intrigue. “This is fascinating… So you’re saying you went your entire life not knowing anything about crests?” She nodded her head once again. “Which means, you don’t know if you have one yourself?” Sarina nodded her head.

“Is it… bad if I don’t have one?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Well… not necessarily,” Hanneman said. For a brief moment, he gave a rather solemn expression. It quickly disappeared as he cleared his throat and offered to explain to her about the significance of crests and what they are. “Allow me to explain to you then. Crests are power incarnate. They are said to have been bestowed upon humans by the goddess years ago and exists within the flresh and therefore passed down through bloodlines.” Sarina listened intently, not daring to say a word to interrupt him. “Those who have crests may excel at magic, have exceptional strength, or any number of boons really. They each have their own power, but the nature of them is still beyond mortal understanding. At least for now.”

“I… see. So how do you find out if they have one?” Sarina asked.

“Well you see, when one uses their crest, they emit a glow and its insignia is actually engraved on their body,” Hanneman answered.

“Oh, like a birthmark?” Sarina tried to clarify.

“Something like that, yes, but it won’t show unless it’s activated. We have various of tools to confirm if someone has a crest without needing to activate its ability, in case it should be something destructive,” Hanneman informed.

The idea of crests was quite intriguing, and yet… she had a feeling that crests aren’t as astounding as it all may sound, especially the look that Hanneman had earlier. “I see… Thank you for explaining, Professor Hannaman.”

“It was my pleasure,” Hanneman said with a kind smile on his face. “When you have time and when I am better equipped, you can stop by again and we can see if you have a crest or not. It is possible that yours has been dormant, but when our equipment on hand, we can confirm it for ourselves.”

Sarina gave a nod of her head. “Okay, I’ll come by again then,” she said to her.

“Splendid!” Hanneman cheered. “If you are still familiarizing yourself with the monastery, just across from here is the infirmary. Manuela should be there right now if you want to speak to her. Oh, and if you are interested, if you just go down this hallway and make a right, you will find a library at the end. On the other side, you will find the war room and common room. Those are usually for war council meetings.”

The information was appreciated as Sarina didn’t have to venture to find out what was at the ends of the hallway, but the library piqued her interest. “Thank you, I appreciate this,” she thanked again before giving a polite bow. “Have a good day, Professor Hanneman.”

“And to you as well,” Hanneman returned as he gave his own bow.

Sarina turned around and stepped out of the room, deciding to give Manuela a visit in the infirmary. Her presence seemed to have been quickly detected by the woman as she saw her turned around and was surprised by her presence. “Oh, hello professor,” Manuela greeted cordially as she smiled brightly at her. “Are you ill? This is the infirmary, you know,” she teased.

For a brief moment, she regretted the decision to come due to the honey coated words that Manuela spoke. They always spoke with such a sultry tone to it. Perhaps this is what her father felt when she tried to come onto him. She cleared her throat quickly. “No, I was just exploring. Hanneman told me that this was the infirmary so I thought I had a look for myself,” she explained.

“Oh, how nice of him and how nice of you to give me a pleasant visit,” She cooed to her as she stepped closer. Manuela stand over just half a head taller than herself, maybe taller with the heels that she wore. “Well just know if you’re ever wounded or sick, you are always welcome to stop by, even for a nice cup of tea.” She gave her a flirtatious wink, flustering the poor mercenary further. She giggled, clearly teasing her.

“That… sounds nice, sure,” Sarina said, unable to find the will to reject the offer.

Manuela let out a haughty laugh. “Well, some other time. I look forward to working with you.”

“And I as well,” Sarina replied. “I think I’ll head to the library before calling it day…” She looked around, hoping to find a window, but there was none. “I suppose it might be late, isn’t it?”

“Ah yes, the sun should be setting right about now, so do be sure you get to your quarters safely. We don’t want awful rumors to be spreading about you already,” Manuela stated, but Sarina was sure she was teasing her again.

“Right. Good day… err.. night?” She gave a bow and left the infirmary.

Manuela bid her goodbye as she left. Sarina followed Hanneman’s earlier directions to where the library was, and just like he said, at the very end of the hallway on the right was an open door to the left. She passed by a couple of monks who stepped out and a student who seemed to have just finished reading up or studying something. She reached the doorway and peered inside. There were countless of books around and the library was dimly lit by the candlelight. As she looked upward, she could see another floor lined with shelves of books. It was kind of interesting as she walked in further. There seemed to be no one, most likely everyone retiring for the night. The tables and the chairs were neatly aligned across the room and there was a large pillared structure near the end that seemed to support the ceiling up. If she wanted to, she could take the set of stairs that they had to go up a floor. She turned her body as she began to walk backwards. She let out a startled jump as she felt herself hit something behind her and nearly tumbled over.

She heard an old man’s surprised gasp as she turned around and realized she bumped into an elderly man. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized and helped the man straightened up, catching him before he fell completely over.

The old man let out a soft laughter as he dusted his shoulders off, leaning onto his cane for support as he stood hunched over. “Oh it is quite alright my dear. No harm was done.” He looked up to her and gives her a kind smile. “I don’t recognize you here, are you perhaps new?”

She slowly nodded her head as her eyes met his. As she stared into his eyes, they gave a bit of an… uneasy feeling that she couldn’t quite put. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing a little. “I am.”

“Ah I see. Well, let me welcome you to the library. Here you can find literature that reaches as far as Fodlan can take you. I am Tomas, the librarian,” he introduced himself while gesturing to the large room of the library. He looked back to her with a kind smile as he continued, “If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I have worked here for many decades and you will find no one knows this library better than I do, oh ho ho.” He let out a jovial laugh.

That uneasiness seemed to fade as she spoke with him. “Thank you, I may come back sometime soon then,” she said to him.

“I should hope so, there’s not enough young people who are reading these days. They’re always out and about doing who knows what,” he playfully complained.

She could give a laugh if she was capable of it. “Perhaps in due time they’ll see value in reading,” she assured the librarian.

“Haha, perhaps. Well, I don’t want to keep you from your business. I was just about to retreat to my quarters, it is quite getting late,” he mentioned.

“Ah, yes. Thank you again, let me escort you out,” she offered. Despite her rough mercenary life, her father did teach her to be respectful to those older than her.

“My, what a kind young lady, thank you.”

Sarina escorted Tomas from the library and down the hallway. He informed her his room is along somewhere on the second floor and that she should go on to return to her own quarters. She felt reluctant, perhaps a bit guilty, to leave an old man by himself, but at his insistence, she relented. She thanked him and bid him a goodbye before proceeding to walk to the stairs and descending down on them to reach the reception hall. As expected, it had grown dark as once she stepped off the staircase, she looked down the corridor and saw the night turned pitch black, save for the bright light of the moon.

She walked out of the corridor to step into the light. For her, it felt as warm as the sun. She looked up to see it was still a full moon, however, in the next couple of nights it will shortly change shape. Unlike last night, she doesn’t quite feel the urge. What she does feel is tiredness and an empty stomach. Surely it did not turn so late it was past dinnertime. She looked around and found herself at the Officers Academy area. If she recalled, if she just walked down this way, there should be a straight path towards the dining hall.

“ _Chop chop, I am starving as you are,_ ” Sothis suddenly spoke in her mind.

“I didn’t think you feel hunger,” Sarina quietly commented as she began to walk down.

“ _Mmm, not necessarily, but after the taste of that cold treat, I seem to have develop a taste for human delicacies. Of course, through you_ ,” She explained.

“Ah,” Sarina let out as she walked down the pathway. It took just a minute or two to reach the dining hall and it was bustling with students. It seems that she has just made it for dinner, and she was certainly glad for that. She eagerly made her way towards the line, grabbing a tray to carry the plates of food that she would choose. Sarina didn’t hesitate to fill her tray various of plates. She picked up a number of bread rolls (never has she eaten bread that was baked so deliciously); a plate that contained pheasant roast drizzled with some sort of berry sauce; a stew that contained poultry and onions; another bowl of soup that contained some sort of fish and onions baked with a layer of cheese on top; there was some sort of jerky that they offered on the table and she didn’t hesitate to take it as well. She looked at her tray which was overwhelmed with the mountainous of food she had collected. She felt a bit disappointed that this was all she could fit at the moment, wishing to simply grab everything at once and to eat it at once. She became further disappointed when she realized she didn’t even a single dessert on her tray.

“Um, excuse me, ma’aam?” someone spoke behind her.

Sarina blinked and looked behind her, someone nervously fidgeting behind her.

“Are you still in line?” they asked her.

She looked behind her and saw a line of more people waiting to get their food. She realized they had been watching her grab nearly everything in sight and she quickly stepped out of the line, feeling embarrassed—not because of the amount of food she had gotten. She supposed since she will be here teaching for a while, she will have many other opportunities to try more dishes. She didn’t seem to note the strange eyes watching her, almost in disbelief. She looked around for a place to sit. She hoped to find a lone table where she could sit by herself, that is until she saw her father sitting at table who was surrounded with other knights, asking him questions from left to right, and straight across from him was Alois as well who laughed loudly that the entire dining hall could hear, however it seemed to be a regular occurrence.

Her poor father. She approached the table with her tray in hand and Alois was the first to noticed her. “Ah, if it isn’t the new professor! Come, come! Sit with us! I was just catching up with your father,” he said loudly. As she looked over to her father, he looked at her and mouthed, ‘Help me’.

She gave him her sympathies silently as she took a seat next to him. When compared to her father as they sit, she was like a small wolf cub while her father was a giant lion. It seemed to be fitting quite honestly. “My what an appetite you have, just like your father!” Alois complimented as he gave a boisterous laugh. Sarina thought she felt a whirlwind of air blow against her face from his laughter as she picked up a bread roll and bit into it. Warm and soft, unlike the dry and stale bread they would have in the field. She closed her eyes peacefully as he listened to rowdiness of the crowd around her, chewing quietly. Alois went on about something, a story about Jeralt and himself in the past. She would be interested, but she was all talked out after a day’s worth of meeting people and walking about. She took another bite into her bread roll.

“Oh right, before I forget, we’ll meet with Lady Rhea again first thing in the morning,” Jeralt said to her, bringing her out of her peaceful state of mind.

If the food hadn’t been so deliciously and she had finally found a moment’s time to sit down and rest, her mood would’ve been soured. She simply nodded her head in understanding as she opened her eyes up at him, taking another bite of the bread roll. “With Seteth?” she asked with a full mouth, recalling about her earlier concerns she addressed to him.

“Yup, so eat up well tonight and get enough rest,” he urged her as he patted her back gently and gave it a gentle rub.

She nodded her head once again as she placed down her bread roll and looked at the many plates of food she gathered. Her mouth watered at every one of them and had no idea where to start. She started with the fat, juicy pheasant that lied in front of her and picked up her fork and knife. She had to remember she was still in public and tried to eat in a way that didn’t put her in the category of a barbarian of a bandit. She could practically hear the slosh of the meat being sliced through as she pierced it with her fork, bringing it up to her plump pink lips. She the savory mix of the pheasant and the sweetness of the berry sauce blended beautifully together. She had never cried before in her life, she thought this could be the first time.

Jeralt watched her enjoy the food. On their payroll and the lives that they lived, he knew she never had food, clothes, or shelter that was as extravagant as the monastery. Despite the naturally stoic and neutral expression she wore on her face, her eyes that seemed to sparkle in delight and joy and her bubbly cheeks colored in pink told him that she was enjoying herself, even if she didn’t know it. He was glad to see such a sight. While he continued to dread his time being back in the monastery, if he had to say one thing that was worth coming here for, it was this.

He spent the rest of the night listening to the terrible jokes that Alois at the table, while his daughter indulged herself for the first time of the platter of food she grabbed for herself.


	15. Who Will You Lead?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina was faced with an important decision to pick a house to lead.

As Jeralt said to her last night, they were expected to meet the archbishop and Seteth first thing in the morning. While Sarina would have preferred to stay in the comfort of her new bed, she knew that would not be wise. Quite honestly, she didn’t get much sleep last night as she had spent much of it speaking with Sothis.

In the night, Jeralt escorted her back to her room. She barely had enough energy to change out of her clothes, but Sothis suddenly appeared in the air and nagged her to do so. She was dressed in a white night gown and she settled under her sheets. It was warm and soft, wrapping herself in it. She sat up and leaned against the wall, brushing her fingers through her hair and lazily braiding it as she looked up to Sothis. “So much happened today,” she said to her.

“ _Indeed_ , _it was rather exhausting today,_ ” Sothis mentioned as she floated in the air, lying across an invisible ground with her legs crossed behind her and resting her cheek in her hand.

Sarina let out a huff. “You weren’t the one talking to everyone,” she murmured.

“ _Ah yes, but I had to listen all the same,_ ” Sothis casually countered.

Now Sarina knew she was playing her. She looked up to the ceiling and thought back to when she saved Edelgard. She couldn’t help but reach back, feeling for an invisible wound that didn’t happen—or rather that would’ve happened if she did not—or Sothis—turned back the hands of time. “Sothis, when we saved Edelgard…”

Sothis looked up to her, tilting her head a bit wondering what she was going to say.

“You said you turned back the hands of time?” she asked.

“ _Ah! Yes, that is what happened, and we went back just far enough that you save that girl. What about it?”_ The girl asked as she watched her.

“Just what do you call that power? And what are the limitations to it?” Sarina asked her as she finished braiding her hair, letting it rest on her shoulder. She pulled the blanket up just over her lap as she leaned back, relaxing against the wall.

Sothis watched her carefully as she took a moment to think of how to explain the power. It seems that although she knows of it, she also doesn’t know it at the same time, which was strange. Strange indeed. “It is a power called the Divine Pulse. With it, you will be capable of going back in time—of course, not very far.”

Sarina thought for a moment. “I guess just a few minutes then? Probably…” she thought hard on the estimation. “Five minutes at the maximum?” she questioned.

“Yes. Although it is a powerful tool at our disposal, it is limited within its uses,” Sothis further explained as she rolled over and lifted her legs in the air, swaying them back and forth casually, most likely out of boredom.

“Hmm… How many times could I reverse time then?” Sarina asked.

Sothis sat up in the air and turned to face the girl. “As far as I am capable of... 3 times.”

“3 times…” Ideally speaking, it sounds like just enough, however, in the times of battle, it wouldn’t be enough.

“ _Now, don’t be foolish to be using it willy nilly. It should only be used in times of dire and when your life is threatened as my life is tied to yours_ ,” Sothis lectured as she looked at her sternly.

Sarina swallowed. She didn’t even think about using it other than battle until she brought it up, but she did have a point. “I guess once they’re all used up, you get tired right?”

“ _Yes… although a simple task, it is also the most taxing_ ,” the girl pointed out before letting out a yawn. She lies across in the air again, crossing her arms and resting her head on top of them. “ _Like right now,”_ she said through yawns.

A yawn left her own lips. “Mm, I guess we should get rest then…” She proceeded to lean over to her nightstand, picking up the candle that lit up the room. She blew it out and immediately, everything went as dark as the night sky. “Goodnight, Sothis,” she said softly before placing the lamp down back on the stand. She didn’t hear her return it and realized she had quickly gone to sleep. She didn’t mind and made herself comfortable in bed, falling asleep herself, more quickly than she expected.

That was the conversation she held last night with Sothis, and now Sarina stood in between Hanneman and Manuela. She had completely forgotten she was supposed to choose a house, but she didn’t expect that they needed a response today. She had little time to think about it this morning as she scrambled out of bed to reach the Audience Chambers in time. Soon enough, Lady Rhea and Seteth stood in front of them, with the archbishop speaking, “How are you enjoying your time at the academy? I hope you have found our halls brimming with the vitality of well-intentioned souls.”

Sarina admired her eloquent way of speaking. “The monastery and the academy… It’s very… nice,” she answered simply, trying not to avert her gaze to the ground. She tried to keep steady eye contact with Lady Rhea. Manuela smiled and gave a comforting touch by placing her hand on her back. She seemed to sense her nervousness.

“Well, without further delay then, it is time for you to take charge of one of our three houses of students,” Seteth announced to Sarina before letting out a sigh. “However, I must note that I am personally against entrusting someone as lacking in trackable history such as yourself with such a task.” Lady Rhea looked towards him in response to what he said, however, he coolly follows up with the statement, “But it is as the archbishop desires.”

Manuela was the next to speak as she looked over to Sarina. “There is the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer. They are all so different, but I’ve heard you went out of your way in greeting and getting to know each of them. With that said..” she turned towards Hanneman to finish her statement.

“Mannuela and I have decided you should be allow to pick first. Each year, professors are delegated to a different household and this will be no different. Since she and I are familiar with each house, it is only fair that you should get the first pick,” Hanneman explained to her. “Once you pick, Manuela and I will take charge of the remaining two houses.”

“Ah…” Sarina let out. She thought about the aforementioned houses before looking up to Lady Rhea.

“So which will you choose, Sarina?” she asked her.

Sarina swallowed silently and dropped her gaze to the ground. She fidgeted with her fingers and thought about yesterday. She took an extensive amount of time in greeting and getting a brief introduction from each house and their students.

She could pick the Golden Deer—at least she knew Leonie there and felt comforted by the fact she would know at least someone. However, when she thought about working with Claude, although he was nice, he was a bit too mischievous for her taste and she knew he had more than just a mischievous side to him. He was too… scheming. While it can be beneficial in times of need and on the battlefield, it does her no good if he can’t communicate his intentions with her directly. In other words, he takes the meaning of keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer, a tad bit too far maybe. Not only that, while she appreciates his attitude in living in the present to see another day tomorrow... It had its limits. Plus, she didn't like how confident he felt that she would _absolutely_ be their professor. 

Next on her mind was the Black Eagles. They seemed to be earnest in their own right, however, Hubert seemed too be cautious of her, more so than she would like and Edelgard was a bit too eager and persistent as it felt like she was trying to recruit her rather than persuade her to teach her house. Not only that, something about her insistence gnawed at her, as if she an ulterior motive. There wasn’t quite anything wrong with the other students, nothing really standing out too much except the feeling and goal of ambition that seemed to radiate from them. While she commends their attitude and determination to strive for their future ambitions, she couldn’t help but worry about the means they will take to get there. This was all just speculation, however, but she didn’t want to choose them just so she could watch after them.

And finally, the Blue Lions. Although she spoke with each of them briefly, she couldn’t help but develop some kind of fondness with them. She recalled how she described them yesterday—a den of young wolf cubs. Not only that, when she spoke with Dimitri… While he hoped she would teach his class, he never pressured her to actually being their professor, or even a classmate. In fact, it felt like no matter what choice she made, he would support it in some shape or form. She greatly appreciated that. Not only that, there was some sort of comfort she felt while she was there, but she couldn’t quite explain it. That feeling was so intriguing that it piqued her curiosity, so much, that she believed she had just made her decision.

“Professor, have you finally decided?” Lady Rhea asked, interrupting her thoughts. She watched her carefully and waited patiently for her answer, knowing she was lost in thought.

When Sarina looked up, she realized she kept everyone waiting and looking at her expectantly. “I… I want to teach the Blue Lions,” she said out loud, looking at each of them, wondering what their reaction was.

“So, you have chosen the Blue Lions, led by Dimitri, correct?” Lady Rhea repeated, waiting for her to confirmation.

Sarina nodded her head indefinitely. “Yes.”

“I see… Your heart has made its choice then,” Lady Rhea said in response, giving her a smile. “All I ask is that you guide these open minds with virtue, care, and sincerity,” she said to Sarina earnestly as she clasped her hands together in prayer, as if giving her blessing.

“Thank you, and I… will try,” Sarina said, not wanting to make promises that she may not be capable of keeping.

“These are all promising youths who will bear the weight of Fodlan’s future upon their shoulders. Appreciate what an honor it is to lead them,” Seteth said to her.

“Then it is settled, I will be teaching the Golden Deer,” Hanneman announced. “It will be interesting to see what they are capable of.”

Manuela sighed a bit as she exaggeratedly said, “Then I guess that leaves me with the Black Eagles, but I rather deal with more behaved kids than a group of rambunctious ones.” Despite the choice of words, she genuinely seemed to look forward to teaching the house.

“Now that we have that out of the way, professor—” Before Seteth could continue to talk, someone suddenly walked in to the audience chambers.

“Brother?” a young girl’s voice echoed throughout the room as she approached the group. Everyone turned towards who spoke and it was a small girl with bright green hair, styled into ringlets that laid on her shoulders. When she realized she had interrupted a meeting, she placed her hands over her mouth. “Oh! I am so sincerely sorry! I did not mean to interrupt,” she said sincerely and apologetically.

“Flayn,” Seteth acknowledged her presence. “I am in the middle of something. Is it urgent?” he asked of her, but he had a look of worry and concern on his face, thinking something has happened.

“No, no, it’s nothing.” Flayn insisted as she looked over the group and noticed an unfamiliar face. “Oh, who is this?” she asked as she looked towards Sarina.

Sarina gave her a nod of acknowledgement as Seteth explained, “This is our newest professor at the academy. She will be teaching the Blue Lions this year.”

“Oh I see! A new addition to the Officers Academy, I am so very pleased to meet you, Professor!” Flayn said enthusiastically as she approached Sarina and gently took her hands in her own. “I am Seteth’s d—” she stopped herself short.” Little sister! My name is Flayn, I am so happy to make your acquaintance,” she greeted as she shook Sarina’s hands in delight.

Sarina made no attempts to stop her and nodded her head in tune with the hand shaking. “Likewise. Will you be in my class too?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, I am not,” Flayn admitted, not hiding her sadness.

Seteth cleared his throat loudly to grab everyone’s attention. “Let us focus on the topic at hand. Flayn, please,” he urged her. She lets out a ‘oh’ and released Sarina’s hands and proceeded to walk over to her brother’s side. “Thank you. Now there is something you should be aware of. In a few days’ time, we will have a mock battle between the three houses.”

“A… mock battle?” Sarina repeated as she tilted her head slightly. “Like… sparring?”

“Similar. It is a battle that will be held in the field, and it is intended to gauge the current progress of the students. We use this as an opportunity to ascertain your own abilities as well. It will be wise to not disappoint the archbishop,” Seteth explained to her.

Sarina’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Isn’t a bit too soon…? The students will barely have time to be informed,” she mentioned.

“Do not worry professor, I’m sure you will do great,” Hanneman assured her as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “They are well aware of the mock battle coming up, so take the time you do have to familiarize yourself with them until then,” he suggested.

“Okay…” Sarina said, resigning to the situation at hand.

“If that is all of your questions and concerns, then that is all. You are dismissed. Well, except you professor,” Seteth informed Sarina. He turned towards Flayn as he said to her, “Flayn, I have something important to discuss with Lady Rhea and Sarina, can you wait for me in my office?”

“Of course, brother,” Flayn said as she nodded her head to him. She turned towards Sarina and smiled brightly at her. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” She bowed to her at the waist before following Hanneman and Manuela from outside the room. Just at the door, Jeralt had arrived. He allowed Hanneman, Manuela, and Flayn pass first before entering inside, closing the door behind him.

“Sorry I’m late, I was finishing up some rounds with the knights,” Jeralt greeted as he approached both Seteth and Lady Rhea. “Thank you for agreeing to this private audience,” he said to the two as he stepped up next to his daughter.

Sarina was worried at first, but then realized what the meeting was for.

“Of course, Jeralt. I am glad to be able to grant you an audience,” Lady Rhea said, as if showing her gratitude to him for being able to give him this.

“What is it that you wanted to talk about if you had to request a private one, especially on such short notice?” Seteth asked.

Jeralt and Sarina glanced at each other. Silence filled the room as the two silently communicated of who would answer the question. Her father let out a sigh when Sarina refused to speak up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll be straight to the point then. Sarina is a Cresian wolf.”

“What?” Seteth in shocked as Lady Rhea simply held a hardened gaze. “That is impossible. Cresian wolves are known to stay up in the north. Not only that, on what grounds should we believe that?”

“Seteth,” Lady Rhea spoke in a firm tone. “I believe he’s telling the truth,” she said to him before turning towards Sarina.

Sarina swallowed as she averted her gaze to the ground.

“Well, if you want proof, she can turn into one right here and now,” Jeralt said, having absolutely nothing to hide.

Sarina simply nodded her head in agreement. After all, actions spoke louder than words. All she needed was approval. And preferably a bit of privacy.

As Seteth gave a hard, stern look to both Jeralt and Sarina, he saw on their faces that they were both serious and neither were bluffing. “This is all so sudden.”

“I wish I could’ve brought it up under better circumstances, but you didn’t exactly leave us much room to work with,” Jeralt stated, subtly putting some blame on both the archbishop and her subordinate.

“I see… I understand. It will not be necessary to show proof. I can see you are both telling the truth,” Lady Rhea stated. “So what you wish to ask of us is to help accommodate her circumstances.”

“That, and that I only want the people who know about this to be just us. If other people knew, it would only cause a ruckus,” Jeralt pointed out. “Not only that, I don’t think many people are quite accepting of people who are Cresian wolves. Surely, you remember a particular incident that happened long ago.” Sarina tilted her head slightly, wondering what her father was referring to. Realizing he slipped up, Jeralt cleared his throat. “In any case, I’m sure you should understand the nature of a Cresian wolf?” Sarina pressed her lips together in a fine line and decided to let it go for now.

“Yes, I am well aware. Every full moon, you always feel the need to be outside, is it not?” She asked Sarina.

She slowly nodded her head.

“You needn’t worry then,” the archbishop said to her with an assured smile. “Around Garreg Mach, there is plenty of lush forestry and hunting grounds that you can roam about. I will have Seteth inform the knights on that patrol the monastery in the night of what to expect. I’m sure he can think of an excuse,” she said as she gives a smile to Seteth.

Seteth could only sigh as he knows too well of the responsibility, she actually gave him. “Of course, Lady Rhea,” he says nonetheless as he presses a fist against his chance as a sign of his loyalty.

Sarina almost brightened up at the prospect of being able to freely roam about. “So I can… run as much as I like?” she asked Lady Rhea.

An even softer and kinder smile appeared on her face. “Of course, sweet child. I only want to the best for you,” she said to her with a nod of her head.

“But Lady Rhea, surely you can’t mean she will go unsupervised,” Seteth soon interjected.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there with her. As best I can anyways,” Jeralt said as he rested his hand on his hip. “How about this: she won’t just be aimlessly running about, but why not make her part of the night patrol during those nights?” he suggested. “That way she can not only fulfill her needs, she will also be watching out for the monastery.”

Sarina thought about it for a moment. When she is a wolf, it is not like she loses all semblance of self—in fact she is mostly aware of her surroundings, the people, and her actions so she is undoubtedly almost always in control. However, her animalistic instincts are stronger as a wolf, so sometimes caution may be necessary sometimes. “That isn’t a bad idea...” she said, affirming her agreement to the suggestion, unless it becomes rejected.

Lady Rhea seemed also pleased by the suggestion before looking to Seteth. “Well Seteth? I won’t accept if you are not also in agreement,” she said to him, showing that she is willing to compromise and wants to be able to appease everyone.

Sarina and Jeralt looked over to Seteth, letting him make the final decision.

Seeing all eyes on him, Seteth took a moment to think it over. Silence filled the room and it felt like the seconds had become minutes until he finally opened his mouth to speak. “That is… a fair compromise I suppose. Fine, I agree, but under the condition that I come supervise as well.”

Jeralt looked over to Sarina and she gave a shrug. She didn’t see anything wrong with that. “Then it’s settled,” he concluded. “Thank you for your cooperation Lady Rhea, Seteth. This means a lot to my daughter,” he stated.

Sarina gave a bow of gratitude to Lady Rhea and Seteth to show her own appreciation. “Thank you, I understand this was a difficult matter,” she said.

“There is no need, I am happy to accommodate as necessary to make your stay here as comforting as possible, provided that you show your gratitude in return during your work as professor,” Lady Rhea said to to Sarina.

The mercenary nodded her head in understanding, seeing it as a fair trade.

“Is there anything else you would like to discuss?” Lady Rhea asked as she turned towards Jeralt.

“Not that I can think of, except that I should probably start heading back before Alois gets on my ass,” he joked as he gives a light laugh to ease up the tension in the room. He soon looked over to his daughter. “Picked a house yet, kid?”

Sarina slumped her shoulders slightly. “Yeah. I picked the Blue Lions.” She answered.

“Ah, good choice. I thought that house might fit you better than the other two,” he admitted and patted her head. “Well, off I go. It was nice talking to you,” he said and didn’t bother to show proper etiquette to both Seteth and the archbishop. He was gone as quick as he came.

Seteth sighed at his rudeness and shook his head lightly before looking back to Sarina, giving her a stern look. “Well, you should go on and introduce yourself to your house then. Each house were informed that they will be introduced who will be teaching them for the year, so they will be expecting you in their classroom. I will come by later and inform you of your duties as professor. That is all.”

“May the goddess bless you on this day,” Lady Rhea prayed as she clasped her hands together again and gave her a silent prayer.

Sarina nodded her head and gave a bow to both of them before turning on her heels to leave the audience chamber. She glanced back momentarily to see the stern look on Seteth’s face and the oddly serene look on Lady Rhea’s face. Despite her sincerity and genuineness during their talk, she still felt uneasy.


	16. The Students and the Professor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarina formally meets her students of the Blue Lions, finding herself warming up to them as they do her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years Everyone! Love to be posting this on the first day of the year and thank you for all the support for this badly written and self-indulgent fic lmao! I hope everyone had a happy new year and can have another one for the new decade

As Sarina stepped towards the Blue Lions classroom, she glanced to either side. She wondered if Manuela and Hanneman has already introduced themselves. That most likely left herself as she had to stayed back. She found herself in front of the door, reaching for the handle. She hesitated at the last moment, feeling nervous.

“ _Will you not open the door?_ ” Sothis asked in her mind.

She shook her head lightly. “I’m just… nervous is all,” she said quietly.

“ _Do not be nervous. I am here with you. I’m sure they will take a liking to you_ ,” Sothis assured her.

Sarina nodded and a took deep breath. She could hear indistinct voices within the classroom and could only guess they were talking about her. She stood tall, pulled her shoulders back and grabbed the handle, pushing it forward and taking a bold step inside. Her sudden appearance caused the room to become quiet and before her were eight students: Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Annette, Ashe, and Mercedes. She was quickly losing her nerve as she stepped further inside and closed the door behind her.

Annette was the first to speak up. “Oh you were here yesterday! Hello! So you’re joining our class? This is great!” she cheered, however, she seemed to be unaware that Sarina would be their professor, not their classmate.

As she stepped in front of them, she cleared her throat. “As you already have heard, you would be receiving a new professor today and well… I will be the one teaching all of you this year,” she announced.

She looked around and saw a variety of reactions. Dimitri blinked before giving a smile, seeming happy or pleased to know that she will be teaching them. Annette was the first to react strongly. “What?! Wait… you’re our new _professor_?!” she emphasized as she held her face, a bright red blush across her face. “No way, I really can’t believe, I was speaking to you so casually like we were… oh my god, I am so sorry, Professor!” she quickly apologized.

Sarina didn’t expect that and was afraid the girl was going to pass out from lack of air going into her lungs from the amount of words she was spouting out.

Annette continued on, “You just look the same age as us, and and… oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that, I’m so sorry, me and my big mouth.” She whined.

Sarina quickly raised her hand to stop the girl from speaking, hoping to let her have a breather. “It’s fine. I don’t mind if you treated me as you did everyone else,” she admitted. “It would be much more comfortable,” she said.

“Annie, calm down.” Mercedes said to her friend, hoping to help soothe her anxiety. “I’m sure the professor doesn’t mind of what happened yesterday,” she tried to assure her best friend.

Annette let out another whine. “You say that but… I don’t know, I don’t think it’s right,” she admitted.

Dimitri interjected, “I agree, we all wish to show you with due respect, regardless of the small age gap between you and us.”

“But, if the professor says it’s okay, shouldn’t we respect that from her?” Sylvain said as he crossed his arms behind his head. “I mean, you know, if Your Highness can consent to such a thing. I mean, we already casual with you, so why not with our professor as well?” he pointed out.

“Well, we’re not in the kingdom,” Dimitri soon said as he held his chin in thought. “I guess it only goes to follow we should all speak companionably…” he concluded as he looked towards Sarina. “If the professor says it’s fine we ought to accept that kindness gratefully.”

“I don’t know, it’s still a bit uncomfortable for me… Oh, not to say you’re making me uncomfortable,” Ingrid said to her.

“Don’t force yourself if it’s too difficult. I’m sure the professor understands, right?” Mercedes says as she looks to her. Sarina nodded her head in agreement.

“Really, I don’t mind what you call me. Whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Sarina emphasized to them, quietly glad they were warming up to her.

“Wow, her benevolence must be a divine gift from the goddess herself!” Sylvain exclaimed, praising her exaggeratedly. “I don’t suppose you would care to join me for tea? We can discuss things education… and marriage,” Sylvain gives her a wink.

“Pass,” Sarina immediately says.

Some people had turned their heads away, biting their lips, covering their mouths, or suppressing their laughter at the hard rejection that Sarina gave. Sylvain tried to keep a calm and cool face, but it was clear that statement stung quite a bit. Perhaps his pride was wounded? Sarina felt a tinge of guilt. She didn’t realize the affect her words seemed to have.

Felix shook his head, not seeming amused and looked especially disappointed with Sylvain’s behavior. “Can you control yourself for one second Sylvain? The professor has better things to do obviously, and I have more important matters than your skirt-chasing.” Sarina wondered what he meant, and her question would be quickly answered as he followed up with his request—or demand rather. “Come to the training ground, show me what you’re capable of.”

If she recalled, he made a demand like that last time they talked. “Oh, I did say I would spar with you, right?”

“Felix, you aren’t wasting any time, are you?” Dimitri soon said. “If you are going to the training grounds, then count me in.”

“Didn’t you already get a glimpse from when she had to save you, boar?” Felix asked. “You had your share, let someone else get a chance,” he says to him in a rough voice.

Sarina had a feeling she should interject; however, Ashe spoke up upon the speak of training. “Pardon me, but I would love to observe in battle. For future reference that is. O-only if you’re okay with it!” he quickly added in a nervous manner.

“I would also like to observe, it would be interesting to see how you fight, professor,” Ingrid said.

“If someone gets injured, I’ll be there to patch you up right away!” Mercedes said enthusiastically, seeming eager to help if someone is in trouble.

“Your highness, please do not go overboard,” Dedue implored to the prince, watching over him like a mother hen.

“Dedue, please, you are worrying too much. I’ll be fine, I promise,” Dimitri attempted to assure his vassal.

Sylvain was in disbelief at everyone’s insistence to training with their new professor. “Everyone, don’t you think it’s a bit crass to be bonding with each other through crossing blades?”

“Oh? If that’s how you feel, then you can stay behind while the rest of us go to the training grounds,” Ingrid stated to Sylvain with a sly smile on her face, seeming fine with the idea in leaving him behind.

Sylvain feigns injury as he rubs the back of his neck. “Don’t be too hard on me now,” he pleads playfully.

Sarina didn’t even get a word in at all but seeing all of them interact with each other warms her heart a bit. “Well, since all of you so eager to train, save for one, we can, but I would like to take a moment to at least discuss the plans for the next couple of days…” she insisted. “I was just informed that there will be a mock battle… I think Seteth told me it will be in a few days.”

“Ah, yes, you are not familiar with the Officers Academy’s customs, correct?” Dimitri asked her and she confirmed it with a nod. “The mock battle takes place on the last day of the month, meaning we will have only 5 days to prepare for it.”

Sarina’s eyes widened slightly. “Five days?” She pressed her lips in a firm line.

“What? Scared?” Felix asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Felix, don’t be rude!” Annette scolded him and he would give a scoff in response.

“So little time to prepare is all,” Sarina admitted as she brought her hand up to her cheek, becoming lost in thought.

“No offense, professor, but don’t you usually have to work on the fly since you are a mercenary?” Sylvain asked as he placed his hand on his hip.

Sarina had to admit that he had a point, but he also missed something important. “It’s just that aside from the prince, I am unfamiliar with everyone’s combat styles and role,” she admitted.

“Whoa, your highness, you’re already putting the moves on our professor?” Sylvain exclaimed before being quickly put down by Ingrid.

“Sylvain, for once, shut your mouth?” Ingrid said to him in a hushed voice.

Dimitri had a flushed face at Sylvain’s response. “No it’s not like that, I just happened to have the opportunity to fight alongside her when she saved me from those bandits.”

Sarina allow for a moment to pass before speaking again, “While true, you never know who you are working with in a real battle, however, because I will be your professor and you my students, it’s only natural that I want us all to synergize with each other efficiently. Not only that, it is important to understand your roles when you fight alongside each other. While communication is important, you will see that it can be diminished when you’re out in the field.” She didn’t realize how much she was talking until the room fell silent, everyone looking at her in surprised, but also engrossed in her short lesson she seemed to be giving.

She cleared her throat awkwardly. “Sorry,” she could only say.

“No, please don’t be. This is a valuable lesson we should all be learning,” Dimitri said to her before giving a smile. “I can see that you will be an excellent professor for us,” he praised.

Sarina felt comforted in those words and nodded her head. “Well, okay. Anyways, since I guess technically today is my first… why don’t we spend the day of you all getting to know me first?”

“Finally,” Felix said as he stepped forward. “I’m looking forward to crossing swords with you,” he stated, almost eagerly.

“And there he goes,” Sylvain sighs.

“I am looking forward to observing, professor!” Ashe piped up as he pumped his fists up excitedly.

“I can’t believe we’re going to see our professor fight,” Annette said with similar enthusiasm.

Mercedes lets out a giggle. “I’ll be there, ready to heal you.”

Dimitri lets out a chuckle at his classmates’ enthusiasm. “Felix is a fierce opponent, do not let your guard down for he is not easy to take down,” he warned his professor light-heartedly.

As Sarina glanced at Felix, she could tell he was well disciplined and has trained often. “I’m looking forward to our match then.”


	17. DISCONTINUED

Hello! I decided to make an official update regarding this story. While I am glad the traction it has gotten over the past 8 months, I wanted to say I am unfortunately discontinuing this story.

If I have to be honest, I had a total of 50 chapters in draft and while I could continue update this story regularly, I gradually became to dislike the way this story was going mainly because as I began to write for other things, the way I want to go about things changed completely. Growth of a writer I suppose. Not only that, I am on the cusp of graduation and well pandemic has been the pandemic. 👉🏼👈🏼 Busy life is busy life in this stressful time.

However!!!

I wish to rewrite this series, to something I am comfortable and satisfied with. So just wanted to say thank you for everyone’s support and who had followed this story. It may not be for a while as I am currently planning to do two writing projects. 

One of which is a Claudeleth AU story and an upcoming story which will feature every student from Three Houses.

Again, I deeply apologize for those who waited for another chapter, but thank you again for supporting and following this story. 💕

I hope everyone has been doing well and staying safe. We are all in this together during these difficult times! Prayers to everyone’s safety and welfare 💕💕💕


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